Bioprocessing Co-op

Indigo is a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet. With a vision of creating a world where farming is an economically desirable and accessible profession, Indigo works alongside its growers to apply natural approaches, conserve resources for future generations, and grow healthy food for all. Utilizing beneficial plant microbes to improve crop health and productivity, Indigo’s portfolio is focused on cotton, wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, and rice. The company, founded by Flagship Pioneering, is headquartered in Boston, MA, with additional offices in Memphis, TN, Research Triangle Park, NC, Sydney, Australia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and São Paulo, Brazil. www.indigoag.com

The Bioprocessing team at Indigo is seeking a co-op to support process development and downstream processing for stabilizing microbial products. The co-op will be responsible for processing dried microbial powders and tracking sample stability. The candidate we seek will have microbiology laboratory experience, with excellent organizational skills. The co-op will assist with daily routine needs such as bacterial enumeration and reagent preparation but will also assist in the development of spray drying, lyophilization, flow cytometry and bioreactor techniques. The co-op we seek will have the confidence and strong desire to learn cutting edge techniques to maximize the growth and preserve the viability of diverse bacteria and fungi.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Track stability of dried microbial products by plating for CFU
• Maintain and organize a large library of stabilized products
• Assist with spray drying microbial samples using a benchtop spray dryer
• Assist with freeze drying microbial samples using a pilot scale lyophilizer
• Enumerate microbial samples using live/dead staining with a flow cytometer
• Determine moisture contents of powders using Karl Fischer analysis and loss on drying
• Characterize powder properties such as hygroscopcity, bulk tap density, and particle size distribution
• Understand and embody our purpose & core values
  • Excited by Indigo’s mission; believes that Indigo can fundamentally change the agriculture industry; can clearly articulate passion for our mission and values
  • Optimistic and innovative; solution-oriented; shows no signs of cynicism
  • Will be widely viewed as someone who personifies our core values, is committed to them, and leans on them when making decisions. Specifically:
    • Demonstrates a track record of high integrity - doing the right thing, owning mistakes, conducting oneself honestly
    • Values, communicates and interacts with others with high levels of transparency and respect
  • Collaborates well across functions; creates an inspiring and collegial work environment

COMPETENCIES

• Strong microbiology skills and experience enumerating bacterial and/or fungal samples using CFU plating
• Desire to learn spray drying and lyophilization techniques, as well as methods to characterize powders
• Collaborative team player who is comfortable working within a large group
• Strong organization skills and a commitment to documentation and record keeping
• Comfortable learning diverse new skills and being able to execute lab protocols confidently with some oversight
• Excellent communication skills with a desire to present their work to small audiences
• Strong desire to learn about developing microbial agricultural products