Job Description
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 (starting on 2nd March 2026) 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 systems
Apply:
It is essential that applicants hold entitlement to work in the UK. Please quote job reference 171 853 in all correspondence.
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