YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary responsibilities of this role, Lead of Microbial Genetics, are to: 

• Ensure effective and high quality development and support of Crop Science Biologics portfolio and pipeline;
• Lead team responsible for building a state of the art microbial genetics platform and using same to characterize, build and improve the performance of strains to commercial levels;
• Drive optimal externalization strategy and use of Bayer-wide capabilities;
• Direct team responsible for identification, assessment and validation of new genetic tools for building and optimizing microbes which includes in house validation, collaborations and commercial partners;
• Take ownership as a whole for developing (MRT) Microbial Research Technologies innovation and overarching discovery strategy, allocating resources and governance of discovery and Phase I research projects;
• Lead and direct platform team running a research pipeline that applies the above tools to building and optimizing candidate strains to commercial performance levels, using both recombinant and classical methods;
• Responsible for setting and managing departmental budget, assigning resources to projects to insure most efficient advancement of cross functional projects;
• Oversee departmental operations, including continuous commitment to safety;
• Develop and maintain a multi-year plan for space, hiring, budget, collaborations and capital investment;
• Responsible for managing multiple external funded partnerships with academics and companies;
• Define with stakeholders the key needs for microbiology and establish strategic plan to assess and implement key tools and services to rapidly advance the Biologics strain improvement pipeline and provide a trusted voice to senior management as authority in technical area;
• Build close collaborative relationships with key senior stakeholders in other global functions such as Regulatory Science, Open Innovation, Trait discovery and validation to provide excellent technical guidance on societal acceptance, technology assessment and exchange of ideas;
• Develop and mentor senior scientific staff and ensure productive, efficient and safe working environment;
• Collaborate with legal to develop microbial genetics patent strategy for new microbial actives and their pathways.

WHO YOU ARE

Your success will be driven by your demonstration of our LIFE values.  More specifically related to this position, Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:

Required Qualifications:

• B.S. in Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, Genomics or allied field with at least 14 years industry experience OR M.S. in Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, Genomics or allied field with at least 12 years industry experience OR Ph.D. in Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, Genomics or allied field with at least 8 years industrial experience;
• 4+ years of experience of technical leadership experience with a demonstrated ability to grow a team of people managers and individual contributors;
• Strong people leadership, management and development skills;
• Supervise scientific personnel and makes technical decisions which involve a high degree of planning and coordinating ability so that numerous activities converge successfully;
• Able to set strategy and vision and translate it in platform priorities;
• Experience aligning technical strategy with business strategy;
• Track record of incorporating new innovation into projects and processes;
• Understanding of R&D process across technologies;
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills with proven ability to communicate, collaborate with senior management, peers and direct reports to deliver measurable results;
• Able to influence and lead in a matrix organization;
• Persistence, assertiveness, execution orientation in an ambiguous environment;
• Strategic thinker with strong innovation mindset;
• Site located in West Sacramento, CA.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Understanding of Biologics business and its specifics.

Domestic relocation may be available for this role.