Cultivarium
Scientist, Cell-Free Systems
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Who We Are
Cultivarium builds scientific tools that turn biological discovery into real-world capability. As a Frontier Research Contractor, we provide technical solutions and hands-on support to partners working on the problems of today. Born a Focused Research Organization, we are drawn to the hardest technological problems in biology and built to tackle them with intensity. We prize builders who efficiently leverage resources to deliver tangible solutions at the frontier, for outsized societal benefit. Our ambition is to study and engineer non-model organisms across the entire tree of life.
What We Are Looking For
Some biological questions can be answered by taking the cell out of the cell. We're looking for a scientist to build cell-free systems for non-model organisms and diverse biological systems so we can measure biology, control it, and put it to work. A successful candidate pairs deep biochemistry and protein purification with the instincts of an enzymologist and the quantitative discipline of a chemical engineer. You are as comfortable preparing an active lysate from an organism no one has worked with as you are reasoning about flux, cofactors, and energy balance to make a reaction go.
This is an in-person role at our London, UK location.
Responsibilities
- Develop and optimize cell-free systems for non-model organisms and diverse biological systems, spanning crude-extract (lysate) and reconstituted approaches for cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) and coupled transcription-translation (TX-TL).
- Establish robust lysate and extract workflows (cell growth and harvest, lysis by sonication, homogenization, or bead-beating, clarification, run-off, and dialysis), with rigorous attention to activity and batch-to-batch reproducibility.
- Express, purify and characterize enzymes and cofactors to high purity (ÄKTA/FPLC, affinity, ion-exchange, and size-exclusion chromatography), and reconstitute defined multi-enzyme systems in vitro.
- Engineer energy and cofactor regeneration (ATP/GTP, NAD(P)H, redox, and Mg2+/K+ balance) to sustain high-flux reactions.
- Reconstruct and debug metabolic pathways in vitro, reasoning quantitatively about flux, bottlenecks, thermodynamics, and cofactor and energy balance.
- Model and optimize reactions with an engineering mindset: enzyme kinetics, mass balance, and design of experiments to improve rate, titer, and yield.
- Build and run analytical assays (LC-MS, HPLC, and plate-based kinetic and reporter assays) to track substrates, products, intermediates, and protein output.
- Write protocols and SOPs, present data to the team and leadership, and maintain the instruments and reagents the work depends on.
- Bring high agency and high standards: take ownership, give and receive candid feedback, and push the team to be its best in service of the science.
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Basic Qualifications
- You believe that cell-free systems can be an efficient way to understand biology and put it to work, and that a well-built reconstituted system can do what no living cell will.
- Authorized to work without sponsorship.
- PhD in biochemistry, chemical or biological engineering, molecular biology, synthetic biology, or a related field.
- Hands-on experience developing cell-free systems: extract or lysate preparation and/or cell-free protein synthesis, TX-TL, or in vitro reconstitution.
- Excellence in protein purification and biochemistry, including independent operation of ÄKTA/FPLC and multi-step chromatography (affinity, ion-exchange, size-exclusion) with rigorous protein QC.
- Strong enzymology: assay design, kinetic characterization, and mechanistic reasoning about catalysis, cofactors, and inhibition.
- A quantitative, analytical mindset, with the instincts of a chemical engineer: comfort with kinetics, mass balance, stoichiometry, reaction optimization, and design of experiments, with data analysis in Python, R, or equivalent.
- Molecular biology fundamentals: cloning and construct generation for expression.
- Strong quantitative and analytical skills, reasoning from first principles, with meticulous record-keeping.
- An excellent communicator and collaborator with meticulous record-keeping and attention to detail.
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Advanced Qualifications
- Experience extending cell-free systems to non-model or non-E. coli organisms (e.g. Vibrio natriegens, Bacillus, Streptomyces, yeast, or other diverse hosts especially eukaryotic).
- Cell-free metabolic engineering: building multi-enzyme biosynthetic pathways in vitro.
- Reaction and kinetic modeling, metabolic flux analysis, or chemical-engineering-style modeling (rate laws, mass and energy balance).
- PURE / reconstituted-system experience, cell-free glycoprotein synthesis, or membrane-protein and noncanonical amino acid incorporation.
- Analytical chemistry depth (LC-MS/MS, GC-MS, or HPLC method development).
- Lab automation and high-throughput screening (acoustic liquid handling, DoE software such as JMP).
- A track record of contributions through publications, patents, or open-source software.
- Proficiency with screening methods such as microfluidics, droplet generation, FACS-Seq, pooled barcoded-library screening, and CRISPR screening.
We Offer
- An opportunity to refine your craft in service of science and society.
- Annual leave, plus bank holidays, and a year-end closure.
- Employer pension contribution, with optional salary sacrifice.
- Private medical insurance.
We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that proudly pursues and hires a diverse workforce. We do not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion or religious belief, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state, or federal laws or prohibited by Company policy. We strive for a healthy and safe workplace and strictly prohibit harassment of any kind.
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