Scientist III Senior Scientist – Microbial Ecology

About Pivot Bio:

Fueled by an innovative drive and a deep understanding of microbiology genomics crop nutrition and agriculture Pivot Bio is pioneering game-changing advances in fertilizer technology. Our first commercial product harnesses the power ofnaturally-occurringmicrobes modern gene editing and application technologies to provide nitrogen to crops. Weare dedicated to providingnew solutionsfor farmers to improve yield as they work to help feed the worlds growing population. Read/Hear more about Pivot Bio onForbesorPBS News Hour.

The Microbial Ecologist is an experiencedscientific role responsible for advancing the understanding of microbial establishment persistence and functional activity in agricultural systems. This position applies leading-edge knowledge of microbial ecology soilplantmicrobe interactions and microbiome science to contribute to the development of company concepts technologies and biological product strategies.

The role bridges laboratory discovery with field validation generating ecological insights that guide product development product optimization and commercialization of biological solutions in crop production systems.

Essential Functions

• Design and lead experiments evaluating microbial colonization establishment persistence and ecological fitness across diverse agricultural environments.
• Develop statistically robust sampling strategies for soil rhizosphere and root-associated microbiomes to evaluate microbial establishment and product performance.
• Integrate laboratory-based mechanistic research with field validation trials to understand drivers of microbial performance and product efficacy.
• Oversee microbiome analyses including amplicon sequencing qPCR metagenomics and strain tracking approaches.
• Interpret complex ecological and multi-omics datasets to inform product advancement decisions and technology development.
• Translate ecological findings into actionable recommendations that inform product development feedback loops and customer-facing best management practices.
• Identifyknowledge gaps in microbial establishment and soilplantmicrobe interactions and propose innovative research strategies to address them.
• Contribute scientificexpertiseto pipeline strategy through ecological risk assessment environmental performance evaluation and establishment modeling.

Competencies

Knowledge & Application

• Applies advanced scientific knowledge and professional concepts in microbial ecology and soilplantmicrobe interactions to contribute to the development of company concepts technologies and research strategies.
• Maintains deepexpertisein microbiome sequencing workflows microbial establishment dynamics and ecological analysis.
• Stays current with advances in microbial ecology soil health microbiome science and agricultural biological technologies.
• Applies scientificexpertisecreatively to achieve researchobjectivesand support product development initiatives.

Complexity & Problem Solving

• Works on significant and unique scientific problems where analysis requires evaluation of complex biological systems and environmental variability.
• Designs experimental approaches that address complex interactions between microbial strains host plants soils climate and crop management practices.
• Integrates multiple data sourcesincluding ecological agronomic and molecular datasetsto draw meaningful scientific conclusions.
• Exercises independent judgment indeterminingscientificobjectives research approaches and experimental methods for critical assignments.

Collaboration & Interaction

• Acts independently indeterminingscientific methods and procedures while collaborating across multidisciplinary teams.
• Partners closely with field agronomists to ensure experimental design reflects agronomic realities and production environments.
• Collaborates with formulation productapplication and molecular teams tooptimizemicrobial establishment and product performance.
• Communicates complex ecological concepts and datasets effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Supports cross-functional product development initiatives and contributes scientific insight to integrated product strategies.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with field researchformulationscience molecular biology and regulatory teams.

Work Environment

• Role involves a combination of laboratory field and office-based work.
• Field work may include outdoor agricultural environments under varying weather conditionsincluding walking on uneven terrain for some distance.

Travel Required: 2030% (field trials and research sites)

Required Education & Experience

• Scientist III - Microbial Ecology Soil Microbiology Environmental Microbiology Soil Science or relatedfields with4years of experience in academia or industry working with microbial ecology or soil microbiology in agricultural systems.
• Senior Microbial Ecology Soil Microbiology Environmental Microbiology Soil Science or related fieldswith 8 years of experience in academia or industry working with microbial ecology or soil microbiology in agricultural systems.
• Experience designing and executing field-based ecological experiments.
• Proficiencywith microbiome sequencing workflows and ecological data analysis tools (R Python or similar).
• Strong understanding of soilplantmicrobe interactions and microbial establishment processes.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate laboratory and field research to support applied product development.

Must be authorized to work in the United States

What We Offer:

• Competitive package in a disruptive startup
• Stock options
• Health/Dental/Vision insurance with employer-paid premiums
• Life Short-Term and Long-Term Disability policies
• Employee Assistance Program with free referrals and discounts
• 401(k) plan 3% Match
• Commuter benefits
• Annual Training & Development support
• Flexible vacation policy with a generous holiday schedule
• Exciting opportunity to work with a talented and fun team

Hiring Compensation Range

• Scientist III - $
• Senior Scientist - $

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