Lab Technician (Contract)

About Benson Hill
Benson Hill empowers innovators to develop more healthy, tasty and sustainable food by unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants. Benson Hill’s CropOS™ platform combines machine learning and big data with breeding techniques and plant biology to drastically accelerate and simplify the product development process. This platform allows for cost-effective and more efficient ways for companies to analyze and make improvements in plant genetics. Benson Hill brings a unique and holistic approach to our product and platform development, as we span a broader workflow involving trait and seed development, genome editing, and breeding all the way to creating better ingredients and varieties that tap a strong consumer demand for more flavorful and nutritious fruits and vegetables. More information can be found online at www.bensonhill.com. Follow us on Twitter at @BensonHillInc.

Our Purpose and Core Values

Our Core Values are a set of common principles we share that are fundamental to our company’s identity.

• Be Bold!  We redefine boundaries by providing new solutions to difficult problems. Together we are driven to transform the future and will not allow the fear of failure to prevent us from innovating. We voice our opinions, embrace change, and challenge each other to think creatively.
• Be Inspired! We redefine boundaries by providing new solutions to difficult problems. Together we are driven to transform the future and will not allow the fear of failure to prevent us from innovating. We voice our opinions, embrace change, and challenge each other to think creatively.
• Be Real! We understand who we are, what we want to achieve, and what it takes to get there. We hold each other accountable through timely, candid, and well-intentioned feedback. Together we engage in honest communication and healthy debate that leads to success through true alignment.

Department Overview

The Technology Department is responsible for the development of technology platforms and products designed to support the future growth, competitiveness, and long-term sustainability of the company. As part of its platform development efforts, R&D conducts a wide range of research activities, namely in the areas of trait discovery and validation, crop genetic engineering, crop transformation, molecular detection, biochemical assays, plant growth, and molecular breeding, food science & innovation to name a few. These activities are aimed at developing new capabilities in crop research, the outcome of which is then leveraged to create new product development opportunities and shorten the time to market. The department leverages its platform capabilities and extensive knowhow in biology and crop science, along with the computational expertise housed within the Data Science & Platform Engineering, as well as the market insights of the Business Development and Commercial teams to design and create new and improved crop varieties, which offer tangible benefits to farmers and consumers, specifically in the areas of sustainability, health and nutrition. We are actively seeking a lab manager to join our Food Innovation team within Technology. 

Position Summary

We are actively seeking a Technician to join the food innovation team at Benson Hill.  The Technician will be responsible for a variety of food analytical science analyses, including seed processing, sample preparation, and supporting scientists with functionality, composition, and related analysis.

YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT BY: (ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES):

• Receiving, labelling, and storing materials and samples with direction from research assistants and scientists.
• Cleaning and maintaining lab work areas and lab equipment.
• Perform basic equipment calibration procedures.
• Accurately follow SOPs requiring consistent seed processing, sample weighing, pipetting, and data recording
• Assist scientists in analyses related to functionality, composition, flavor, and process development.
• Maintain a good awareness of GLPs
• Lab re-stocking
• Communicate research progress and results to team members.
• Comply with company safety policies, laboratory policy and procedures.

You Have (Competencies and Qualifications):

Education

• Minimum Requirement is HS Diploma or GED with 2+ years of relevant experience; prefer Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.

Experience

• Good MS Office skills
• Experience working in a laboratory environment.
• Experience using common lab equipment such as pH meters, balances, water bath, grinders, pipettes, blenders, sieves, bench centrifuges.

Other

• Good communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-moving environment
• Collaborative
• Ability to focus and work independently with direction.