Founding Scientist, Microbial Engineering

About Warp Biosciences

Warp is building engineered microbes that introduce new metabolic functions into the human body.

We believe the next major category in human performance and health will come from programmable biology. Most performance products introduce molecules into the body. We are interested in installing new metabolic function directly through engineered living systems.

Our first programs sit at the intersection of synthetic biology, metabolism, microbiome engineering, fermentation, and consumer biotechnology. We are building microbial systems designed for measurable effects on endurance and recovery.

We are looking for a founding-level scientist to help architect and build the company’s scientific foundation.

The Role

We are hiring a senior microbial metabolic engineer to lead development of engineered microbial systems from early pathway design through robust functional output.

This is a highly hands-on role with significant technical ownership. You will work directly with the founders on strain engineering, pathway optimization, fermentation strategy, physiological constraints, experimental architecture, and long-term platform development.

The right person is someone who moves quickly, has strong biological intuition, and has experience turning fragile proof-of-concept systems into reliable engineered biology.

This role is ideal for someone who wants meaningful influence over the scientific direction of a company rather than operating inside a narrowly scoped research function.

What You’ll Work On

• Design and optimize microbial metabolic pathways

• Engineer Gram-positive and spore-forming microbial chassis

• Improve pathway performance under physiological constraints including oxygen limitation, cofactor availability, metabolic burden, and redox balance

• Develop fermentation and sporulation workflows

• Build high-velocity experimental systems for rapid strain iteration and validation

• Help establish Warp’s long-term platform architecture across microbial engineering and metabolism

• Work closely with external collaborators, manufacturing partners, CROs, and research institutions where needed

What We’re Looking For

We care substantially more about technical judgment and practical experience than credentials alone.

Strong candidates will have deep experience taking pathways from proof-of-concept to stable functional output in real biological systems.

Helpful backgrounds include:

• Metabolic Engineering

• Synthetic Biology

• Industrial Microbiology

• Fermentation and Bioprocess Optimization

• Probiotic or Live Biotherapeutic Systems

• Bacillus or Other Gram-positive Chassis

• Gut-relevant Metabolic Engineering

• Oxygen-limited or Anaerobic Systems

We are especially interested in people with strong intuition around metabolic flux, physiological bottlenecks, and experimental tradeoffs.

Industrial or commercialization experience is preferred over purely academic publication history.

Likely Background Archetypes

• Early scientist at a synthetic biology startup

• Industrial fermentation or metabolic engineering lead

• Scientist from a microbial platform company

• Probiotic engineering or bioprocess veteran

A PhD is preferred, but not required. Exceptional builders with deep practical experience are strongly encouraged to apply.