Indigo is a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet. With a vision of creating a world where farming is an economically desirable and accessible profession, Indigo works alongside its growers to apply natural approaches, conserve resources for future generations, and grow healthy food for all. Utilizing beneficial plant microbes to improve crop health and productivity, Indigo’s portfolio is focused on cotton, wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, and rice. The company, founded by Flagship Pioneering, is headquartered in Boston, MA, with additional offices in Memphis, TN, Research Triangle Park, NC, Sydney, Australia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and São Paulo, Brazil.  www.indigoag.com

Working with the Bioprocessing team, the co-op will help improve stability of plant beneficial microbes via a variety of drying technologies. They will gain insight into methods of microbial stabilization that contribute to stability of products that offer crop protection. They will be a valued member of our team that will provide support on high priority projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• General laboratory maintenance (e.g. running the autoclave, washing glassware, reagent preparation)
• Assistance with routine tasks as required by senior lab members
• Plating microbes onto agar media, counting colonies, and recording/tracking associated data
• Tracking stability of microbial powder products over time (via spread plating)
• Powder processing and analysis (e.g. water activity and moisture content measurements, particle size analysis, density measurements)
• Maintaining a large inventory of stabilized powder products

Understand and embody our purpose & core values

• Excited by Indigo’s mission; believes that Indigo can fundamentally change the agriculture industry; can clearly articulate passion for our mission and values
• Optimistic and innovative; solution-oriented; shows no signs of cynicism
• Will be widely viewed as someone who personifies our core values, is committed to them, and leans on them when making decisions. Specifically:
  • Demonstrates a track record of high integrity – doing the right thing, owning mistakes, conducting oneself honestly
  • Values, communicates and interacts with others with high levels of transparency and respect
• Collaborates well across functions; creates an inspiring and collegial work environment

COMPETENCIES

• Pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in a scientific field such as Biology or Chemistry
• Self-motivated, able to work alone on tasks. Comfortable learning diverse new skills and being able to execute lab protocols confidently with minimal oversight
• Willingness to take direction and guidance
• Willing to work at a relatively fast pace, common in the start-up world
• Competency in Microsoft Office programs
• Strong organization skills and a commitment to documentation and record keeping
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• A strong desire to learn about developing microbial products
• General laboratory and/or microbiology skills are a plus, for example:
  • Sterile technique
  • Familiarity with bacterial enumeration methods, such as CFU plating and streak plating
  • Reagent preparation
  • Microscopy