Position Summary:

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation’s primary laboratory for research, development, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. NREL emphasizes a well-integrated, interdisciplinary team approach to addressing the unique, fundamental research challenges for developing market relevant, renewable energy technologies. The NREL’s Biosciences Center has an immediate opening for a full-time (40 hours/week) Postdoctoral Researcher position in the Bioenergetics Group to support ongoing research on characterizing bacterial gene regulatory networks and on renewable hydrogen production via genetic engineering. 

General Job Duties and Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities will include to genetically engineer thermophilic and anaerobic bacterium, Clostridium thermocellum, toward desired bacterial phenotypes and maximize hydrogen production from feeding plant biomass and the sugars derived from it.  The projects will also involve characterizing bacteria’s gene regulatory networks and apply such knowledge towards the broader goals of understanding how hydrogen metabolism is regulated on the transcriptional level and how we can implement metabolic regulatory controls to improve it. 

The job will require a variety of molecular biology and synthetic biology techniques, and the candidate should have a strong aptitude to learn and explore new techniques as well as to develop basic biochemical assays to test hypotheses.  Research responsibilities include the following:

• Improved H2 production rate and yield through strain engineering via targeted gene knockout, knockin, and plasmid-based gene expression.
• Characterize the genetically engineered strains with growth curves, time-course quantification of H2 production with gas chromatography (GC), and measurements of plant biomass derived substrate consumption and fermentation products using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). 
• Measure (differential) gene expression with qRT-PCR for physiological understanding and inform strain engineering strategies 
• Develop and document assay protocols
• Report research progress in writing and in figures on a regular basis.
• Deliver results, meet project deadlines and DOE requirements.
• Prepare manuscripts and present results at group and national meetings.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Preference will be given to candidate with experience in implementing gene regulatory control or dynamic control of metabolism including the use of gene circuits.
• The candidate be experienced with molecular cloning, PCR, qPCR, plasmid construction, bacterial transformation, and the ability to develop basic assays and enzyme assays.
• Working knowledge of Clostridial species or thermophilic anaerobic microorganisms is a plus
• Knowledge and experience with metabolic engineering and synthetic biology is ideal
• Analysis and interpretation of transcriptomic data is desired but not a requirement
• Understanding of reaction kinetics and modeling is desired but not a requirement
• Knowledge in lignocellulosic biomass structure and characterization is also a plus

Additional Qualifications

• Proficient in oral and written communication, and communicate well with team members
• Some responsibility for the training and supervision of students and new postdoctoral.
• Contribute to project planning, renewal, and proposal development.
• Ability to work independently and in a team in a multidisciplinary environment

Required Educations, Experience, and Skills

• Must be a recent Ph.D. graduate within the last 3 years in molecular biology, chemical and biomolecular engineering, microbiology, or related field with in-depth knowledge in microbial physiology and emphasis on metabolic engineering and synthetic biology