Job Title: Senior Scientist, Gene Editing

Reporting to: Assistant Director, Biochemistry

Location: Durham, North Carolina

About Pairwise:

Pairwise is a mission-driven food+tech company dedicated to building a healthier world through better fruits and vegetables. Founded in 2017 by eminent scientists in the gene editing and biotechnology fields, Pairwise holds licenses from Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital to base editing and high-fidelity enzymes. We also are tuned in to consumer food trends, and we believe that consumers deserve more variety and innovation in their fresh food choices. Our team is 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. Pairwise is based in the start-up friendly Research Triangle Park and Durham areas of North Carolina.

About This Role:

At Pairwise we were founded on cutting-edge science and a mission that reaches into the deepest sources of human passion – food and the sustainable future of the food supply. While we’re a plant-based company, experience in plant systems is not required for this role. What we are seeking is a leader in genome editing enzyme development who will define and drive an innovation pipeline using mammalian and microbial cell culture systems to invent and improve CRISPR/Cas-based gene editing technologies and create an industry-leading technology portfolio in this highly competitive field. Our mission may focus on fruits and veggies; however, your innovations will directly benefit society even more broadly through Pairwise’s companywide efforts.

Our company culture is something special, and the values you see on our website are so much more than cute little icons and platitudes. We expect each of us to uphold our values and live them in our day-to-day interactions – being transparent and clear in communication, being inclusive in teamwork and independent when needed, will all be necessary to success in this role and with Pairwise. This role does require specific education and experience, so please consider the requirements listed further in this posting for details.

Essential Functions:

• Understand business objectives and use this knowledge to design and run a core discovery and optimization program that delivers new genome editing tools to a cross-functional product discovery pipeline.
• Make significant contributions to an industry-leading technology and IP portfolio by inventing and optimizing novel enzymes (tools) able to edit eukaryotic DNA at specific genomic locations using CRISPR/Cas or other technologies.
• Provide cross-functional technical leadership, expert input, and collaborate across R&D on program design and research strategies to achieve technology platform objectives in multiple fields.
• Ensure program deliverables are closely aligned with business needs by giving regular updates and seeking input from key stakeholders and company leaders, including non-technical audiences.
• Actively engage the external scientific community to scout for new innovations, to identify opportunities for research partnerships, and to establish Pairwise as an important contributor to the scientific community.
• Explore new technologies to solve current bottlenecks and problems in discovery.
• Support and foster a culture of scientific excellence within Pairwise.
• Provide technical direction and leadership to junior team members on a weekly basis.
• Advise the pipeline of tool efficacy and recommend enzymatic tools for enacting specific DNA changes to generate desired alleles in diverse crops.
• Serve as a primary driver of the company's IP portfolio by envisioning novel technologies, filing invention disclosures, and driving data delivery to exemplify patent claims.

Required Education & Experience:

• Ph.D. (or equivalent experience) in Microbiology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, or related field with at least 2 years of post-doctorate experience directing scientific projects or leading scientists in an academic or industrial environment.
• Demonstrated leadership in designing, resourcing, and driving strategy, direction, and execution of important projects.
• Experience with eukaryotic cell culture.
• Understanding of how genome editing outcomes are affected by cellular DNA repair pathways to develop strategies for maximizing preferred outcomes.
• Ability to use and interpret Next Generation Sequencing data to drive experimental progress and decision-making in low- and high-throughput approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects and contribute collaboratively in a cross functional environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively to other scientists, business partners, and collaborators.
• Experience and knowledge in laboratory safe practices, including use of PPE, SDSs and proper handling and disposal of laboratory waste.

Offerings:

• Comprehensive Benefits Plan, including Medical, Dental, Vision, HSA/FSA, 401k, Life Insurance, Short-Term & Long-Term Disability, and more!
• Flexible PTO (use what you need, when you need it), in addition to company holidays.
• 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.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit and use hands to finger, handle or feel, and techniques that require fine motor skills and repetitive motions. The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. The employee is regularly required to talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

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.

No Recruiters please.