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 polymer process chemist to join our growing organization. As a member of the Downstream and Scaleup team, you will enable the next generation of sustainable functional polymers derived from Lygos’ platform molecules. You will be responsible for working closely with the process development and application development teams to develop both fundamental and practical understanding of polymerization processes to enable rapid, efficient, and safe process scale-up to manufacturing scale. In this role, you will have the opportunity to contribute to our mission of producing sustainable products and enabling existing products to elevate their market share and new performance products and brands to be established. You will also get to experience working in a collaborative team environment!

Role & Responsibilities:

• Develop the polymerization chemistry parameters and requirements for making Lygos’ biodegradable functional polymers
• Work closely with analytical support to efficiently interpret polymer characterization and analytical data and maximize learnings
• Support method development for characterization of new functional polymers
• Support the development of product specifications and quality control methods to ensure reliable product performance in target applications
• Support the safe transfer and startup of commercial equipment for production of functional polymers
• Operate efficiently and independently, use internal and external resources efficiently

Qualifications & Experience: 

• PhD in Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Material Science, or related discipline with 8+ years of industrial experience, or BS/MS with equivalent years of industrial experience
• Experience designing and preparing novel polymers for industrial applications
• Experience translating and scaling up polymerization processes from bench to pilot or manufacturing scale
• Solid fundamental knowledge of polymerization chemistry
• Motivated self-starter with a sense of urgency that is comfortable in a fast-paced, multitasking environment
• Superb organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills
• Collaborative, analytical, and data-driven
• The highest regard for safety, respect for people, and ethical behavior 
• Ability to travel for process/equipment trials onsite support (~20%)

Nice-to-haves (but not required):

• Experience with aqueous soluble polymers, hydrogels, or amino acid derived polymers
• Experience scaling up polymerization processes to manufacturing scale
• Experience developing product specifications 
• Experience in agricultural applications and consumer product applications 

Lygos offers highly competitive salaries and benefits, including medical and dental insurance, paid time off, and 401(k).

Salary Range: $154K - $216K -  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. We are not able to sponsor individuals for employment visas for this job. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

This position is based in our Berkeley, CA location. There is no relocation assistance offered at this time.