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Enabling Technologies Lead

Aptos, CA

Position Title: Enabling Technologies Lead

Location: Aptos, CA

Type: Full-time

Ohalo™ is seeking an Enabling Technologies Lead that is highly skilled in protein engineering. In this role you will design, express, and purify proteins critical to Ohalo’s pipeline; lead efforts to develop or optimize protein tools; and establish robust workflows and systems to support downstream engineering and trait discovery. Your work will be instrumental in powering novel molecular tools, improving enzyme function, and accelerating innovation in our breeding platforms.

Responsibilities:

Protein Engineering and Functional Assay Development

  • Lead the Enabling Technologies team, providing technical and research direction, mentoring, and project oversight to research associates and scientists.
  • Design protein engineering experiments, using computational tools, rational design, directed evolution, or a combination thereof.
  • Express and purify recombinant proteins in various hosts (e.g., bacterial, yeast, insect, plant) to high purity and yield.
  • Develop, optimize, and validate protein expression systems, purification protocols, and assay methods.
  • Operate, oversee, or collaborate with facilities using Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC), including systems like ÄKTA pure (or similar), ensuring quality and reproducibility of purification workflows.
  • Troubleshoot protein folding, solubility, stability, and post‐translational modification challenges.
  • Work closely with production teams to integrate protein engineering outputs in vivo and in vitro with downstream applications.
  • Establish metrics and milestones, track progress, and report to senior leadership.
  • Stay abreast of the literature and emerging technologies, proposing new methods or tools to strengthen Ohalo’s capabilities.

Other tools

  • The enabling technologies team is a support team that works to creatively solve complex problems facing the company including adjacent technologies such as HPLC for metabolite quantification or other assays as needed.

Process Innovation & SOP Development

  • Establish, refine, and document SOPs for all protein engineering and purification workflows including QC of all outputs in Ohalo’s high-throughput gene editing programs.
  • Develop and optimize novel gene editing technologies
  • Champion continuous improvement, maintaining rigorous experimental design and statistical validation.

Qualifications:

  • Ph.D. in Protein Engineering, Molecular Biology, or a related field.
  • 5+ years of experience in gene-editing-based  research or related protein engineering. 
  • Hands-on proficiency with design of novel proteins, expression, and purification.
  • Minimum postdoctoral or industry experience in protein engineering: including design, expression, purification, and functional characterization of proteins.
  • Strong track record in engineering proteins (enzyme engineering, binding proteins, etc.), solving issues of solubility, folding, stability, expression yield, etc.
  • Experience using AI tools to assist in research processes including development of custom bioinformatics scripts. 
  • Familiarity with assay development and characterization (e.g., kinetics, binding, stability, etc.).
  • Experience leading or mentoring teams, managing projects, and delivering results on schedule.
  • Excellent problem solving skills; ability to work cross‐functionally and communicate complex technical concepts clearly.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Demonstrated experience with protein purification systems, particularly FPLC systems such as ÄKTA pure or equivalents.
  • Experience with HPLC for metabolite analysis is a plus
  • Scaling of protein expression and purification
  • Passion for agriculture, sustainability, or plant biotech is a plus.

The anticipated pay range for this role is $150K - $175K per year for our Aptos, CA location.  The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.

About Ohalo Genetics: 

Ohalo™ aims to accelerate evolution to unlock nature's potential. Founded in 2019, Ohalo develops novel breeding systems and improved plant varieties that help farmers grow more food with fewer natural resources, increasing the yield, resiliency, and genetic diversity of crops to sustainably feed our population. Ohalo's breakthrough technology, Boosted Breeding™, will usher in a new era of improved productivity to radically transform global agriculture. For more information, visit www.ohalo.com.

Notes: If you previously applied for a job at Ohalo Genetics, we encourage you to restate your interest in the position by submitting your application.

No visa sponsorship is available for this position at this time. 

No recruiters, please.

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