Director of the Resnick Ecology and Biosphere Engineering Facility
- Employer
- CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- Location
- California, United States
- Closing date
- 4 Oct 2020
View more
- Job Type
- Senior Management & Heads of Department, Directors
- Contract Type
- Fixed Term
- Hours
- Sessional
Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.
Job Summary
We seek a molecular microbiologist experienced in cultivating and establishing genetic systems in diverse environmental organisms to direct the new Resnick Ecology and Biosphere Engineering (EBE) Facility. This individual will play a critical role in defining the scope of the facility and coordinating its capabilities/investments with those in partnering organizations, including the Carnegie Institute of Science and the Lawrence Berkeley Lab. The primary mission of the Director will be to turn the Caltech EBE Facility into a world-class resource for the cultivation, analysis, and genetic manipulation of microorganisms in the context of interdisciplinary sustainability research.
Job Duties
- Managing day-to-day research activities of the EBE facility.
- Helping Caltech scientists and engineers use the facility to solve interdisciplinary problems (including the training of students/postdocs/faculty in various analytical​ bioinformatic and genetic techniques) involving the study of diverse, environmental microbes.
- Partnering with facility directors at Caltech and outside of Caltech (e.g., at the Carnegie Institute of Science and Lawrence Berkeley Lab) to develop synergistic facility capabilities. This will involve the selection, acquisition, and maintenance of a diverse set of instruments.
- Conducting long-term original research with the potential for transformative impact that is incompatible within the time frame of a typical PhD or postdoctoral project.
- Publishing papers and presenting results of the work at professional meetings and conferences.
- Applying for federal and private grants to augment the resources of the EBE facility as needed.
- Working together with the RSI Executive Director of Operations and a grants manager on the development of the annual budget for the EBE facility.
- Participating in RSI workshops and outreach and other outreach activities.
- Processing and maintaining sensitive and confidential information.
- Performing other related job duties as assigned.
Basic Qualifications
- PhD in microbiology or related field and at least 3 years postdoctoral experience in a related field.
- Expertise in cultivation and genetic manipulation of diverse environmental microbes.
- Expertise in setting up new analytical instruments and troubleshooting their use.
- Expertise in anaerobic microbiology.
- Drive to learn new approaches to microbial cultivation, manipulation, and analysis to keep the EBE facility state-of-the-art.
- Experience in training and mentoring students, and other researchers.
- Ability to work well in a collaborative way with different individuals, including research and administrative staff.
- Ability to coordinate with the directors of complementary Caltech facilities.
- Strong writing and speaking skills, including success in applying for federal grants.
- Creativity and high scientific standards (both rigor and ethics).
- Attention to detail and good time management skills; must have the ability to prioritize, organize, and multitask.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in various microbial cultivation methods (from anaerobic culturing to microfluidic manipulation of single-cells).
- Experience in various analytical approaches (from metabolite analysis to utilizing electrodes or chemical probes to measure the microenvironment around and within cells).
- Experience in various genetic approaches (from allelic replacement to transposon sequencing mutagenesis to gene expression reporters and heterologous protein expression).
- Experience with biosafety level 2 organisms and the associated safety considerations.
- Familiarity with computer programming to automate high-throughput data analysis.
- Background in the chemical principles that drive environmental chemistry.
Required Documents
- Resume
- Cover Letter
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