Thesis worker, Production Host Engineering

at  VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd

WE ARE NOW LOOKING FOR A MASTER’S THESIS WORKER TO JOIN OUR PRODUCTION HOST ENGINEERING TEAM.

As a Thesis worker, you have an opportunity to learn and grow under the supervision of experienced professionals and to contribute to biosynthetic materials such as polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymers. This work is part of VTT’s new research investment on Digital development platform for biosynthetic materials . The wet-laboratory thesis work is a paid 7-month position, with the thesis writing being completed at your own pace outside of working hours. Salary is based on study credits, if you have 180-240 credits, salary will be 2600e/month, 240+ credits 2800e/month. We are flexible around the starting date, but for us the best starting time for the thesis work is after the Holidays in the beginning of 2025.
The main fields of research include metabolic engineering, genetic engineering, and synthetic biology. The primary tasks involve cloning of genetic elements for construction of various PHA producing Escherichia coli or other bacterial strains. In addition, you will do the cultivating and analysis with HPLC and other methods, and documenting and reporting of results within the project group and research team. The scientific objective is to compare the efficiency and substrate specificity of different key enzymes for production of desired copolymers.
You will have the opportunity to learn about cloning, metabolism and physiology in context of PHA production. You will use up-to-date synthetic biology tools, analytical methods, and cultivation technologies.
Our team, Production host engineering works on metabolic engineering of a large number of bacterial and fungal hosts for production of various products e.g., PHAs, lipids and derivatives, organic acids, colourants, or flavours and fragrances. We contribute to current and future production methods of food compounds and ingredients in cellular agriculture, chemicals and small molecules and materials.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Studies (close to completion) in relevant field such as biochemistry, genetics, microbiology or bioprocess engineering
• Laboratory skills and experience in molecular biology techniques
• Experience working either with bacteria, yeast or filamentous fungi
• Strong spoken and written English skills
• Skills in use of excel, power point, recording data and reporting experimental work
• It’s a benefit if you have experience with biochemistry, chemistry, and/or computational methods (metabolic modeling, AI, machine learning)

INTERESTED AND WANT TO KNOW MORE?

For further information, please contact Research Team Leader Jorg de Ruijter, jorg.deruijter@vtt.fi

VTT is one of the leading applied research organisations in Europe. What unites us are curiosity, a passion for learning, and a purpose: to solve the biggest challenges of our time and turn them into sustainable growth and well-being. Our cross-disciplinary community of over 2000 brilliant minds focuses on creating impact through science-based innovation. In recent years, we have created ground-breaking innovations such as the world’s fastest and most accurate radiation detector, a cancer-sniffing sensor device for smartphones, and a headphone set entirely made of microbial materials.