Intern, Trait Discovery

Job Title: Intern, Trait Discovery

Reporting to: Associate Director, Vegetable Program

Location: Research Triangle Park

About Pairwise:

Pairwise is a mission-driven, Agtech company dedicated to building a healthier world through better fruits and vegetables. Pairwise was founded in 2017 by scientists at Harvard University, MIT, and Broad Institute who are eminent in the field of gene editing, as well as biotechnology industry pioneers. Our team is tuned in to consumer food trends, and we believe that consumers deserve more variety and innovation in their fresh food choices. We are primed to deliver that innovation through one of the best gene-editing platforms in food and agriculture. Pairwise has an exclusive 5-year research collaboration with Bayer to develop products in corn, soybean, wheat, canola, and cotton. Plus, Pairwise is developing new types of leafy greens, berries, and stone fruit, with the first product expected in 2023. Pairwise is based in the start-up friendly Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.

About This Role:

We are seeking passionate, engaging, ready-to-learn intern to join us for Summer 2025. We are looking for interns with a major in: Biology, Molecular Biology, Genomics, Plant Science, and biotechnology. Pairwise offers the opportunity of getting to work with industry leading scientists and professionals in a cutting edge, industry changing, food tech company. Our intern will be integrated with our teams here at Pairwise to allow for hands on learning in a fast-paced start-up environment. The Intern will also have season long cap-stone projects that will add real value and help the team resolve real-world challenges they are currently facing. We like to have fun at Pairwise, so the summer won’t be all work and no play! Pairwise intern will not only have “Intern Only” meeting sessions to talk about their experience and share thoughts and feedback with each other, but will also have events to help with career and educational planning, and team building trips to share in the fun of summer in North Carolina.

Essential Functions:

1. Literature Review & Trait Analysis

• • Conduct literature reviews on specific crop traits and relevant gene targets.
  • Summarize findings, discuss and present potential approaches to addressing these traits through gene editing.

1. System Research and Analysis:

• • Work with Trait Discovery, Transformation and Controlled Environments teams to optimize plant growth and regeneration.
  • Research and optimize growth of multiple different crops in a greenhouse space.
  • Conduct research and experiments under the direction of senior scientists.
  • Analyze and interpret data from biological experiments.
  • Maintain and propagate plant materials in the lab.
  • Document and present research findings to the team.

1. Product Pipeline:

• • Maintain your projects through our product pipeline including:
    • Identifying and sampling new edited plants.
    • Plant acclimation and transplanting.
    • Hybridization crosses within population.
    • Trait testing, data entry and other tasks necessary to maintain the product pipeline.

Required Education & Experience:

• A student currently enrolled in a Masters or PhD program in one of the following disciplines:
  • Plant science, Biology, Molecular Biology, Genomics, , Biotechnology
• Basic understanding of genetics and plant developmental biology.
• Ability to conduct targeted literature searches, read scientific articles, and summarize key findings.

Offerings:

• Paid internship experience in a field relevant to your studies!
• Real-world, industry work experience.
• Casual work environment.
• Mission-driven organization focused on creating healthier fruits and veggies.
• A cutting-edge, driven community looking to lead the industry in innovation and nutrition.

EEO Statement:

We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Pairwise we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.