Principal/Senior Research Scientist, Plant Cell Culture

About Foray

Foray Bioscience is unlocking biomanufacturing for plant-based industries to protect and restore natural ecosystems. By cultivating plant cells outside of the plant, Foray produces a diverse array of molecules, materials, and seeds without traditional harvesting, thereby reducing pressure on natural resources. Our technology platform enables plant-free cultivation, which is 100 times faster and uses over 80% less land than conventional methods. This process, driven by a predictive database, makes plant cell culture accessible to the 99% of species previously deemed too difficult to work with. Foray's no-harvest solution addresses the urgent need to combat biodiversity loss and ecological degradation, ensuring the continued availability of essential plant-based resources.

Company Culture

At the intersection of science, engineering, and strategy, we are driven by a shared passion for creating and translating innovative technologies to solve real-world problems. We embrace the unanswered questions and embark on developing novel solutions within a culture of camaraderie, empathy, and respect. Our growth mindset fuels our continuous learning, allowing us to tackle challenges with enthusiasm, scientific integrity, and humble curiosity. As we expand our team, we are looking for partners eager to grow with us on this journey.

About The Role

You will be a thought partner and key contributor to a small, highly motivated team leveraging new and existing techniques in plant cell culture. In this role, you will be working closely with the Head of Research & Development and scientific team across both biology and engineering sciences to define and execute research programs, shaping the trajectory of a new and exciting company in the plant research space. This position requires a self-starter who is adaptable to both independent and team work, a critical thinker and problem-solver, and a skilled communicator of scientific concepts to broad audiences. You should be comfortable taking on new challenges and adaptable to the shifting goals and priorities of a startup environment.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Head of Research & Development to help shape technical strategy, develop research programs, and identify key technical milestones
• Lead the design and execution of internal and external facing projects employing plant cell culture to generate various plant products
• Leverage knowledge of plant nutrition and physiology, metabolic pathways, and analytical biochemistry to drive desired plant outcomes through a combination of first principles and experiments
• Contribute to the development of analytical tools for culture assessment, improvement, and monitoring, working closely with data science and engineering team
• Establish, optimize, and troubleshoot plant cell cultures, supporting the development of protocols for wider lab adoption
• Support the scale-up of plant cell culture processes in bioreactor systems
• Mentor and coach incoming employees on culture preparations, procedures, and analytical tools
  
  

Qualifications

• M.S. or Ph.D. in plant biology, plant physiology, plant biochemistry, or related field
• Preferred: 5+ years industrial research experience involving plant cell culture, plant tissue culture, biomanufacturing, or similar
• Preferred: portfolio of peer-reviewed research work
• Nice-to-have: previous experience in an early-stage company
• Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S.
  
  

Skills & Attributes

• Demonstrated experience in working with aseptic technique and troubleshooting plant tissue culture and cell culture (e.g., including callus, suspension, hairy root) techniques.
• Expertise in designing experiments, conducting statistical analysis, and managing data.
• Strong understanding of plant nutrition, metabolic pathways, cell signaling, and the production of secondary metabolites.
• Ability to optimize culture conditions to drive targeted outcomes, such as growth, analytical tractability, or the production of biochemical compounds.
• Proficient in the use of analytical techniques such as HPLC, GC-MS, and NMR for metabolite profiling and quantification.
• Track record of mentoring scientists or leading project collaborators/customers effectively.
• Preferred: Familiarity with and experience using bioreactor systems.
• Preferred: Experience in collaborating with computational biology teams.
• Preferred: Experience with epigenetic and transcriptional modulation and measurement.
• Preferred: Experience with somatic embryogenesis.
  
  

Company Culture And Benefits

• Competitive salary and title commensurate with experience
• Meaningful equity compensation
• Generous PTO policy
• Comprehensive health, vision, and dental insurance
• 401(k) plan
• The opportunity to creatively engage in high-impact scientific research and development
• Unmatched potential for professional growth in a supportive environment
  
  

Foray deeply values diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We are an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants equally for employment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.