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Umami Bioworks is looking to hire an inquisitive, innovative, and independent Research Assistant to join our media optimization team in Singapore.

As a Research Assistant at Umami Bioworks, you will work closely with our technical and business leadership to overcome a number of technical challenges to make this sustainable food future possible. One day, you will be working on primary cell culture, establishing optimal conditions for isolating and culturing cells from new species. Another day may see you using a variety of molecular techniques to characterize our more established cell cultures, optimizing the serum-free media for those cell lines, or developing immortal cell lines.

You will work directly with other members of our small but growing team to do cutting-edge science and will have the autonomy to test new ideas and identify better ways to do things.

What You Will Do:

• Work directly with senior technical leadership to undertake marine animal cell culture and cell line engineering projects to achieve scientific milestones
• Cell culture on a range of somatic and stem cells from several marine species
• Maintain cells in culture, including passaging, routine media exchange, harvest, and sampling
• Differentiate aquatic animal stem cells into myocytes and adipocytes and optimize methods of inducing differentiation
• Characterize primary cultures and/or cell lines using various molecular techniques (i.e. immunochemistry, PCR, and other DNA/RNA/protein-based methods
  
  

About You

• Above all, you’re mission-aligned: you want to apply your technical talents to building a more sustainable food system and a better future for humanity. Whether you’re driven by animal welfare, environmental protection, ocean sustainability, climate change, or something else, we all bring different perspectives to our shared mission.
• You’re proactive. You take initiative and think about the big picture.
• You’re inquisitive, curious, and have a growth mindset.
• You strive to be high-performing and want to work with others who will help you achieve peak performance.
• You’re kind, collaborative, and believe that you can learn something from everyone you encounter.
• You thrive in dynamic environments and enjoy “hacking” new and innovative solutions to pressing problems.
• You are a Singaporean or a permanent resident in Singapore
  
  

In Return, We’ll Support You With:

• A competitive salary and benefits package
• A safe, supportive, and collaborative environment that will challenge you to do your best work
• An open and adaptive workplace; you’ll have the freedom to define best approaches to solving problems, both technical and organizational, without legacy overhead
• Constant opportunity for growth, including biweekly 1-on-1s and mentorship from the leadership team
• Impactful work tackling one of the world’s most pressing problems
  
  

Anticipated Commencement:

• March 18, 2024
  
  

Selection Criteria:

Ultimately, this role will be shaped around the right candidate. If our mission speaks to you and you are driven to work on solving one of the most impactful problems facing our planet today, we want to talk!

Critical Skills and Background:

• Bachelor’s degree in life science/engineering discipline or equivalent relevant experience
• Experience in aseptic cell culture technique
• Experience in molecular biochemistry, immunofluorescence, and similar cell characterization techniques
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn & independently execute laboratory experiments to answer specific scientific questions
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and skills to prioritize and deliver against timelines
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including strong command of the English language
  
  

Preferred Additional Skills

• Strong quantitative skills in statistical analysis applied to biological systems
• Experience working with stem cells or fish cells
• Experience with molecular biology techniques including PCR, molecular cloning, Western blots, and other protein assays
• Experience working in high-throughput, multi-well plate formats for molecular biology or cell growth studies
  
  

At Umami Bioworks, we are building a more sustainable food future for everyone. To achieve our goal, we strive to build a team that reflects the diversity of the people we aim to serve. We believe that a diversity of backgrounds - and the confluence of unique perspectives it creates - drives innovation and helps us avoid blind spots, and we are building a culture that reflects these beliefs.