Engineer position in yeast synthetic biology

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INRAE presentation

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will be welcomed in the Micalis Institute, a mixed research unit associating INRAE and AgroParisTech and part of the Université Paris-Saclay.

Its mission is to develop innovative research in the field of microbiology of food for health. The three thematic axes correspond to three research priority areas in close connexion:

 -The emergence and control of opportunist pathogen microorganisms from food origin and the adaptation of bacteria to their environments

-The microbial food and intestinal ecosystems and the functional interactions between food, microbiota and host

-The synthetic and system biology

The project will be carried out in the research team “Cosynus” led by Tristan Rossignol and Young-Kyoung Park in Micalis institute, in the synthetic and system biology division. The team is focused on synthetic consortia for microbial cell factories and has strong expertise in the synthetic biology of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica which has high potential as an industrial chassis ¹. Microbial cell factories are regarded as a promising alternative for petrochemical-based production or plant-derived extraction. We are particularly focused on terpenes and dyes bioproduction ². 

Carotenoids are valuable pigments with antioxidant, nutraceutical, and industrial applications, but their extraction from natural sources is often inefficient and costly. This project explores the use of the engineered yeast Yarrowia lipolytica as a microbial cell factory for sustainable carotenoid biosynthesis by introducing and optimizing specific algal metabolic pathways. This microbial platform offers a scalable, eco-friendly alternative to chemical synthesis and plant or algae extraction of specific carotenoids that occur at low native concentrations.

You will be in charge of:

• Genetic engineering of Yarrowia lipolytica by using synthetic biology tools (Golden gate assembly, CRISPR, etc.)
• Growth analysis at different scales (microplates, flasks, etc)
• Analytic measurements of substrates and carotenoids (HPLC) 

Please note that the MICALIS institute is a restricted-access facility (ZRR – Zone à Régime Restrictif). The candidate will need to be approved by the SGDSN (General Secretariat for Defence and National Security).

Training and skills

• Recommended training: Engineer or Master 2 in synthetic biology, molecular biology or microbiology 
• Knowledge required: Molecular biology, Synthetic biology, bioproduction
• Appreciated experience: Molecular cloning, including multigene assembly and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, Yeast engineering and cultures
• Skills sought: Communications, Organizing, Dissemination (written and oral)

We are looking for highly motivated candidates in metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and microbial biotechnology fields. Previous experiences in molecular biology and yeast engineering will be preferred. The position requires organizing skills in multiple tasks, and the ability to work independently but also cooperatively with colleagues within the institute.

 

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):

- up to 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

How to apply

I send my CV and my motivation letter