Principal Synthetic Biologist

CK Group are recruiting for a highly motivated and experienced Principal Synthetic Biologist to join a growing biotechnological company in Newcastle on a three month fixed term contract with scope to be made permanent. A great opportunity to work in a cutting-edge field with a company at the forefront of biotechnological research and be part of a visionary team developing solutions for tomorrow’s challenges.  Company: A newly formed biotechnology organisation with state-of-the-art microbial engineering facilities, focused on building a biological and digital platform for biological assets supply chain management. The Role: To design, execute, validate, and iterate complex chromosomal engineering programs in microbes. This will be a hand-on role where as Principal Biologist you will be capable of taking a biological objective from concept through engineered strains, sequencing-based validation, and interpretation under stress or evolutionary conditions.  Responsibilities: Design and execute scarred and scarless chromosomal integrations across diverse microbes (e.g. E. coli, B. subtilis, P. putida, S. cerevisiae, etc). Perform multi-round, multi-locus genome engineering without marker exhaustion Actively use and help configure ELN and/or LIMS systems to track: strain lineages, construct versions, sequencing data Scientifically direct outsourced bioreactor work end-to-end (design, oversight, QC acceptance, and interpretation), without being the hands-on operator of the reactors. Sequencing & Data Interpretation - Design DNA-seq and RNA-seq experiments aligned to engineering questions Your Background: Essential: PhD in synthetic biology/engineering biology with industry experience Must have hands-on experience in microbial strain/genetic engineering  (5 - 10 years) Demonstrated expertise in chromosomal (not plasmid-only) modification Mastery of scarred and scarless genome editing techniques (CRISPR selection: Cas9/Cas12a DSB) Hands-on user of Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) and/or Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) in a synthetic biology or strain engineering environment.Strongly Preferred Multi-host experience across Gram-negative, Gram-positive, and yeast systems Sequencing-first engineering mindset Prior experience in industrial or production-adjacent strain development Familiarity with lab automation and digital lab systemsApply: It is essential that applicants hold entitlement to work in the UK. Please quote job reference (Apply online only) in all correspondence. If this position isn't suitable but you are looking for a new role, or if you are interested in seeing what opportunities are out there, head over to our LinkedIn page (cka-group) and follow us to see our latest jobs and company news