Research Associate - Genotyping at Benson Hill, Inc in St. Louis, Missouri

Job Description:

About Benson Hill
Benson Hill empowers innovators to develop more healthy, tasty, and sustainable food by unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants. Benson Hill's CropOS™ platform combines machine learning and big data with breeding techniques and plant biology to drastically accelerate and simplify the product development process. This platform allows for cost-effective and more efficient ways for companies to analyze and make improvements in plant genetics. Benson Hill brings a unique and holistic approach to our product and platform development, as we span a broader workflow involving trait and seed development, genome editing, and breeding all the way to creating better ingredients and varieties that tap a strong consumer demand for more flavorful and nutritious fruits and vegetables. More information can be found online atwww.bensonhill.com. Follow us on Twitter at@BensonHillInc.

Our Purpose and Core Values

Our Core Values are a set of common principles we share that are fundamental to our company's identity.

• 
  Be Bold! We redefine boundaries by providing new solutions to difficult problems. Together we are driven to transform the future and will not allow the fear of failure to prevent us from innovating. We voice our opinions, embrace change, and challenge each other to think creatively.


• 
  Be Inspired! We have purpose in our work-we are curious, engaged, and have fun. We maintain an active learning mindset and are motivated by diverse people and thoughts. We are energized by all innovators and together we aim to make an impact and contribute to building a better world.


• 
  Be Real! We understand who we are, what we want to achieve, and what it takes to get there. We hold each other accountable through timely, candid, and well-intentioned feedback. Together we engage in honest communication and healthy debate that leads to success through true alignment.

The Trait Innovation Delivery & Execution (TIDE) team is responsible for new trait discovery and delivery of the R&D product pipeline from the inception of new product targets through to testing of these products on farm in grower fields all in a massively compressed time to market. We conduct a wide range of research activities, namely in the areas of new product concepts, trait discovery, crop transformation, molecular genotyping, and trait validation. These activities are aimed at developing new capabilities in crop research, the outcome of which is leveraged to create new product development opportunities. We are a diverse, energized, and highly experienced team of professionals with a proven track record of delivering novel outcomes that have transformed areas of the Ag Tech sector. We are focused on designing for and delivering scientific and analytical products and insight geared around the commercial objectives with the greatest value and impact. We collaborate across a broad spectrum of internal Technology and Commercial teams along with key 3rd party partnerships to design and deliver these outcomes.

Position Summary

We are actively seeking a Research Associate II to join our Genotyping team to support the growth of our production capabilities at Benson Hill.

The RAII will be responsible for executing laboratory work such as NGS library creation for targeted amplicon sequencing and GBS. The candidate will be accountable for leading junior lab members in lab work, meeting weekly production throughput, and ensure that sample data quality meets our Genotyping team quality metrics. A successful candidate will be able to work well with a team and collaboratively across teams to deliver on company targets as well as continually improve to our workflows. The ability to work shifts is required.

You Will:

• Work on multiple lab workflows (NGS, Endpoint, GE Screening)


• Execute DNA extractions


• Perform daily and weekly preventative maintenance


• Communicate effectively with the Genotyping Production team


• Effectively communicate results in written and visual formats


• Comfortable in a dynamic, fast-paced lab environment


• Be able to critically think and problem solve

Education/Experience

• Bachelor's + 3 years' experience in Plant Biology, Genetics, Life Science, or related field


• Demonstrated experience working collaboratively in cross-functional and multi-functional teams to achieve common goals


• 1+ years relevant experience in working a in high throughput laboratory


• 1+ year relevant experience in multiple genotyping platforms (NGS, MAS)


• Experience in GLP, ISO or similar quality management-driven lab environment


• Experience in PCR setups


• Proficient in MS Excel, Powerpoint, Sharepoint, and Smartsheet

• Knowledge on NGS methodologies


• Knowledge on plant breeding or genome editing


• Experience working in a production setting

• Must be capable of working mid-shift hours from approximately 10am-6pm or early shift hours 7am-3pm Monday through Friday, depending on the weekly needs


• Must be willing to work weekends during peak periods


• Must be willing to be flexible to changing work priorities and tasks


• Attention to detail, analytical skills, and collaborative nature


• Uses data to drive decision making and assess performance


• Ability to focus and work across multiple teams

• A Collaborative Environment


• A flexible PTO program with a focus on work/life balance


• Competitive medical benefits and retirement savings plan


• 
  FREE Dental and Vision Coverage


• Education reimbursement


• 
  PAID parental leave


• And more....