Senior Scientist, Innovation & Research

Job Description

Job Description

Hygiena provides rapid microbiology diagnostic tests and solutions for mission-critical, time-sensitive processes around the world. Hygiena’s proprietary diagnostic technologies enable customers to; prevent illness and save lives, comply with regulations, protect products and brands, run businesses more effectively. Solutions are sold in a wide range of industries globally, but the core focus is food safety. Headquartered in Camarillo, California and with offices around the world, we are actively looking for talented individuals to help grow the business!

At Hygiena we believe:

• In providing the highest quality products & service
• Being a leader in innovation
• Having a compelling desire to improve and win in the marketplace
• In contributing positively not only in the workplace, but in our community and environment!

With rapid growth comes opportunity. We are looking for a Senior Scientist, Innovation & Research to join our team in Camarillo, CA.

Responsibilities:

• Generate new product ideas, find new technologies for product development, chair internal scientific meetings, attend and speak or present at peer status conferences. Stay up to date on the technology by a proactive scientific and technical watch. Run sprints to develop proof of concept and prepare transition to PCP for development to commercialization. May supervise collaborators (Scientist I and II) technical work, review their protocols or reports, and guide them in conducting their lab work.
• Responsible for writing protocols for studies, implementing those studies, then analyzing and interpreting the results in a clear and concise manner. Communicates results of studies, as well as progress made in the product development process as team meetings on an ongoing basis
• Contributes and guides the R&D team to develop new methods, assays and technology; this also includes identifying potential problems, troubleshooting and resolving issues, and improves current methods. Communicate succinctly to senior and executive level. May supervise collaborators (Scientist I and II) technical work, review their protocols or reports, and guide them in conducting their lab work.
• Responsible for general lab upkeep duties such as preparing necessary media/solution needed for studies, disposing of waste that has generated, updating laboratory notebooks and equipment calibrations, and maintaining logbooks as required by ISO.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology or related field and 7 years of directly related experience or Master’s Degree in Microbiological discipline and 5 years of directly related experience preferred.
• Five to eight (5-8) years of industry experience required that includes the following:

• Professional laboratory experience: assays development; from ideation to commercialization in microbiology and/or biochemistry.
• Three (3) years directly focused on innovation, technology development, or advanced research initiatives.
• Experience with scouting, evaluating, and applying emerging technologies in a scientific or product development setting.

• Strong hands-on experience in designing studies and experiments, identifying, and troubleshooting problems with some amount of supervisor.
• Experience contributing to patents, publications, or technology transfer preferred.
• Proven ability to mentor junior scientists and effectively lead collaborative research efforts.
• Knowledge of traditional and rapid biological (serology, microbiology, molecular microbiology, biochemistry) techniques is required.
• Experience in laboratory techniques is required.
• Experience in food microbiology, food safety or Animal Health would be a plus.
• Experience in data analysis, interpretation, and presentation of results.
• Experience in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat required.

Skills/Abilities:

Industry & Technology Knowledge

1. Strong understanding of main Hygiena competitors relevant to employment site
2. Grasp of the key technological differences.
3. Strong understanding of technology relevant to employment site.
4. Ability to design experiments using relevant Hygiena products.
5. Basic understanding of technologies used at other Hygiena sites.
6. Strong understanding of customer issues and troubleshooting approaches

Data Analysis

1. Strong understanding of descriptive and inferential statistics and their use and misuse
2. Ability to display complex data for reports
3. Ability to use results to guide next steps in experiments

Time & Project Management

1. Manage collaborative projects independently.
2. Assist in project portfolio management
3. Proactively manage task priorities, deadlines, and Gantt charts.
4. Independently manage project budgets.

Leadership & Strategic Thinking

1. Specific leadership responsibilities relevant to site functions.
2. Contribute to local strategic thinking
3. Assay Development, design of experiment and working plan.
4. Data analysis, interpretation, and reporting
5. Technical and scientific watch
6. Capacity to oversee and train collaborators.
7. Comfortable with interacting and working with all levels of customers, both internal and external; good interpersonal skills, team motivation and outgoing personality
8. Excellent adaptability in a fast-paced environment with the flexibility and willingness to take on new tasks and projects
9. Ability to speak and write clearly and accurately
10. Attention to detail and accuracy
11. Effective listening skills
12. Multi-tasking capabilities
13. Must have in-depth analytical and problem-solving skills.
14. Must be able to use discretion and independent judgement.
15. Must be able to lift/carry 20 pounds.

Salary Range: (Applicable to California)

$100,000 - $130,000 base salary DOE.

Why you’ll want to join our team:

Teamwork as a core value.

At Hygiena, our emphasis on teamwork and cross-functional communication enables us to build stronger bonds within our business.

Be a part of something big.

Hygiena plays a critical role in helping to prevent global health crisis such as foodborne illness, healthcare-associated infections, and other outbreaks.

Giving back to our communities.

Hygiena believes in giving back by supporting local organizations committed to improving the lives of children and youth in our communities.

Benefits and Perks:

• 15 days of PTO & 9 paid company holidays
• Medical with HSA employer contribution, Dental, Vision available 1st of the month after start date
• Company paid Life Insurance, Short* and Long-Term Disability and an Employee Assistance Program
• 401(k) with Safe Harbor and Profit-Sharing employer contributions
• Tuition Reimbursement program
• Charitable Contribution matching
• Employee Referral bonus opportunities

*State paid short-term disability for California based employees

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Hygiena participates in E-Verify.