About Lygos

Lygos is an industrial biotechnology company developing biobased sustainable solutions to improve everyday products. Our technology platform enables better economics and unlocks the power of organic acids specialty chemicals, enabling our partners to offer sustainable alternatives to legacy petroleum-based plastics, fragrances, home and personal care products, and more.

About the Position

We are seeking an experienced and driven Director of Quality Assurance to join our growing organization. As the leader of a new quality team, you will report to the CTO and support the design and implementation of Lygos’s Quality Management Systems. In this role, you will have the opportunity to build a new quality management system from the ground up, while collaborating with experienced technical and commercial personnel on the launch of new sustainable bioproducts.

Role & Responsibilities:

• Design new Quality Management System meeting product and customer requirements, to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality products
• Generate / review documents and templates to support Quality Management system
• Implement change control systems to maintain and update document management and training systems to ensure they are current
• Collaborate with Lygos technical and commercial leaders to ensure quality systems are rolled out and implemented effectively, with personnel training as needed
• Ensure product Quality Control measurements are suited to their purpose and validated to the standards required for various products and applications
• Develop quality controls for raw materials to ensure suitability for process and product quality needs
• Design robust complaint response systems to react to customer feedback about product quality issues
• Review customer Quality Agreements and manage customer audits
• Perform internal audits to ensure quality systems integrity
• Ensure quality systems in place at contract manufacturing sites meet Lygos needs
• Drive culture of continuous improvement

Qualifications & Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in science or engineering
• Minimum of 10 years working within quality assurance (15+ years of total work experience in QA, QC, and analytical chemistry roles is preferred)
• Significant experience leading quality assurance efforts for a corporation or division
• Experience designing and developing quality systems to meet corporate needs, and applying quality systems to new product launches 
• Depth of knowledge for a range of quality systems and requirements (personal care, food ingredients, industrial products, etc.)

Nice-to-haves (but not required):

• Experience developing quality systems for new industrial bioproducts within industrial biotechnology
• Depth of direct experience developing and validating chromatographic quality control procedures
• Experience achieving quality system certifications (e.g. ISO)

Compensation and Benefits: Lygos offers highly competitive salaries, stock options, bonus and benefits, including medical and dental insurance, unlimited paid time off, and 401(k).

Salary Range: 180,000 - 260,000 -  Actual pay will vary based on various factors, including but not limited to location, skill, experience, and performance. 

The benefits and stock purchase described above are subject to the terms and conditions of any governing plans, policies, practices, agreements, or other materials or documents as in effect from time to time, including but not limited to terms and conditions regarding eligibility.

Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required.  Company may agree to sponsor an individual for an employment visa now or in the future if there is a shortage of individuals with particular skills for this job.  

Location information:

This position is for our Berkeley location - Company may agree to offer relocation assistance for this role.