Ayana Bio
Ayana Bio uses plant cell cultivation to grow plant materials without growing them in the ground. Ayana Bio focuses on creating ingredients that leverage plant bioactives for health and wellness products. Plant cell-derived ingredients solve many of the sustainability, purity, safety and ethical concerns in current botanical supply chains. Ayana Bio collaborates with global industry leaders in food, beverage, dietary supplement, sports nutrition, animal care and skin care to bring the power of plant bioactives to the mass market at scale. Ayana Bio has partnered with the global leader in synthetic biology, Ginkgo Bioworks, to select, optimize and scale plant cell-cultivated ingredients. Ayana Bio is backed by prestigious investors, Viking Global and Cascade, to democratize nature’s bioactives. For more information visit www.ayanabio.com.
General Role Description
This role is an integral part of the early team at Ayana Bio. We are looking for candidates who are driven to help shape Ayana Bio’s technology and are excited to support our mission of democratizing standardized and safe ingredients for consumer nutrition, health, and wellness.
You will focus on developing, maintaining, and assessing cell lines that produce bioactives with targeted health functions. You will ensure the timely launch of Ayana Bio’s technology. This role requires a versatile skill set, including expertise in sterile technique, cell culture, library maintenance, and cellular assays. To thrive in this role, the candidate should be self-motivated, meticulous, and efficient. The successful candidate will relish the opportunity to create something new and important. This full-time position is in Boston, MA.
Responsibilities
- Establish and maintain plant cell cultures under the direction of the technical team
- Generate and verify engineered plant cell lines and perform experiments to optimize transformation methods
- Perform experiments to characterize cell line performance, including growth, metabolic activity, and production of secondary metabolites
- Carry out basic laboratory maintenance tasks, including making media, routine subculturing/passaging, ordering, and sample preparation
- Keep thorough and timely records of lab activity in electronic lab notebook
- Analyze experimental data and write data reports to support cell culture development
- Present key experimental findings to the technical team
- Maintain a clean and safe laboratory environment
Qualifications
The successful applicant will have:
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- A bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a relevant field (e.g., biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, chemical engineering, bioengineering) with 0+ years of experience
- Experience working in a biology or biochemistry lab and familiarity with basic molecular biology techniques (e.g., PCR, DNA extractions, transformations, etc.)
- An understanding of aseptic/sterile technique and experience with cell culture is highly desirable
- The ability to work efficiently and in parallel when possible
- Excellent record-keeping skills (e.g., keeping electronic lab notebooks organized and up to date)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and an ability to work across organizational boundaries
- Excellent data management and organizational skills (i.e., can stay organized and on top of key details that support experiment planning, cell line development, and analysis)
- Interest in learning new skills and the ability to learn new topics quickly
- The ability to prioritize and pivot in a fast-paced environment
- Startup experience (preferred)
We also feel that it’s important to state the obvious here: Our industry lacks diversity, and that needs to change. Our goal is to help drive that change. Ayana Bio is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its practices, especially when it comes to growing our team. Our company fosters belonging and relishes the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life.
We are developing a powerful platform and must remain mindful of the many ways our technology can – and will – impact people around the world. We care about how our platform is used. Having a diverse team to build our platform gives us the best chance to create something we’ll be proud of as it continues to grow. It is critical that we incorporate diverse voices and visions to create a more equitable future of biology.
It is the policy of Ayana Bio to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants.
We also feel that it’s important to state the obvious here: Our industry lacks diversity, and that needs to change. Our goal is to help drive that change. Ayana Bio is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its practices, especially when it comes to growing our team. Our company fosters belonging and relishes the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life.
We are developing a powerful platform and must remain mindful of the many ways our technology can – and will – impact people around the world. We care about how our platform is used. Having a diverse team to build our platform gives us the best chance to create something we’ll be proud of as it continues to grow. It is critical that we incorporate diverse voices and visions to create a more equitable future of biology.
It is the policy of Ayana Bio to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and employment applicants.
E-Verify
Ayana Bio is enrolled in E-Verify. E-Verify is an internet-based system that compares information entered by an employer from an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to records available to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to confirm employment eligibility.
