With a strategy centered on people and sustainability, Braskem is engaged in contributing to the value chain to strengthen the Circular Economy. Braskem's 9,000 team members dedicate themselves every day to improving people's lives through sustainable solutions in chemicals and plastics. With its corporate DNA rooted in innovation, Braskem offers a comprehensive portfolio of plastic resins and chemical products for diverse industries, such as food packaging, construction, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, health and hygiene, and more. With 40 industrial units in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Germany, Braskem exports its products to clients in over 70 countries.
Braskem America is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A. headquartered in Philadelphia. The company is the leading producer of polypropylene in the United States, with six production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh, and a New Renewable Innovation Center in Boston focused on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and advanced materials. For more information, visit www.braskem.com/usa.
Department: Innovation & Technology
Location: Renewable Innovation Center - Lexington, MA
Travel Involved: 0-5%
Job Type: Hybrid
Description:
Braskem, a global leader in the production of bio-based materials, has recently opened a new renewable research and development facility in Lexington, MA. This new 35,000 SFT facility will bring together scientists and engineers from a variety of disciplines to ideate and develop novel technologies for the production of bio-based chemicals and materials.
Braskem America is seeking an exceptional, highly motivated metabolic engineer/pathway discovery Sr. Research Associate to work on cutting edge technology in the renewable chemicals space. The successful candidate will drive wet-lab research on the discovery, testing, and engineering of biochemical pathways in the context of milestone-driven, microbial strain engineering projects. Strong technical, organizational, leadership and communication skills, as well as the ability to develop creative solutions to challenging problems, are essential.
The ideal candidate will be a member of a team tasked with the laboratory development of novel biochemical pathways to produce renewable chemicals and materials. Within this context, the candidate will be responsible for executing experimental technical programs and mentoring junior research associates.
Additional Responsibilities and Activities Include:

• Execution and delivery of wet-lab research required to deliver commercially viable microbial production strains
• Genetic engineering of yeast and bacteria
• Design of DNA constructs
• Documenting experimental procedures and results
• Developing and validating new laboratory methods
• Maintaining project timelines and day-to-day oversight of project wet-lab activities
• Laboratory organization including the maintenance of organism and nucleic acid stocks.

Requirements:
The ideal candidate will have deep and broad knowledge within the fields of microbial metabolism, metabolic engineering, and molecular biology. Candidate will have a track record of delivering microbial production strains for industrial processes. Creativity, entrepreneurship, initiative and good critical judgment are essential for this role. Strong technical and interpersonal skills with the ability to work collaboratively with other scientists including mentoring junior research associates. Demonstrated excellent verbal & written communication skills.
Required Skills, Education, and Experience:

• M.S. in Metabolic Engineering, Microbial Physiology, Biotechnology, Microbiology, or related.
• 5 - 15 years of industrial experience.
• Strong background in microbial physiology, metabolic engineering, pathway discovery, and biochemistry.
• Laboratory experience engineering microbial strains for the production of small-molecules and/or proteins.
• Must be highly motivated with exceptional communication, leadership, and teamwork skills.
• Experience with high-throughput molecular biology techniques and the use of lab automation is a plus.
• Experience with computer programing languages (Python, C , Matlab) is a plus.

What we offer
At Braskem we offer more than just a competitive base pay package. Out total rewards package includes a wide range of benefits that you need for every stage of your life. Out benefits include:

• Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits
• Retirement Benefits
• Maternity and Paternity Leave
• Life Insurance
• Short- and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Teladoc
• A wide range of voluntary benefits like Pet Insurance, Legal and ID Theft Insurance
• Flexible work schedules like 9/80 schedules for eligible team members

Candidates must be currently eligible to work in the United States without the need for any type of sponsorship now or in the future. Braskem is committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates and employees pursuant to applicable law. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you require reasonable accommodation as part of the application process please contact the Talent Acquisition team.