Post Undergraduate/Graduate Intern – Molecular Biology

NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado, and is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development. Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts accelerate energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, NLR focuses on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions.

About the role

The RRES Center at NLR has an opening for a full-time post undergraduate/graduate internship within the Synthetic Biology and Bioconversion group. This internship will focus on metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to generate, screen, and optimize engineered bacterial strains for production of renewable fuels and chemicals from various biomass-derived intermediates and/or C1 molecules. In collaboration with postdoctoral researchers and research scientists, the intern will engineer strains to validate physiological hypotheses.

Responsibilities

• Conduct metabolic engineering and synthetic biology experiments to develop engineered bacterial strains.
• Screen and optimize strains for production of renewable fuels and chemicals.
• Validate physiological hypotheses through strain engineering.
• Maintain excellent organizational skills, including contemporary laboratory notebook documentation.
• Demonstrate attention to detail and proficient communication of scientific findings to peers.
• Apply critical thinking to formulate hypotheses and interpret results.
• Maintain a clean and safe lab space with minimal supervision.

Requirements

• Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
• Undergraduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a bachelor’s degree program from an accredited institution.
• Post Undergraduate: Earned a bachelor’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
• Graduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a master’s degree program from an accredited institution.
• Post Graduate: Earned a master’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
• Graduate + PhD: Completed master’s degree and enrolled as PhD student from an accredited institution.
• Applicants must upload official or unofficial school transcripts as part of the application process. If selected, a letter of recommendation will be required.
• Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Qualifications

Required

• Demonstrated experience in molecular biology, including DNA cloning and transformation.
• Demonstrated experience in microbiology, including sterile techniques.

Preferred

• Experience with genetic engineering of Cupriavidus necator.
• Experience designing synthetic operons and constructing plasmids.
• Experience with biological conversion of C1 substrates.
• Experience with computational data analysis, e.g., skills in Python or R.

Pay

Annual Salary Range: $39,600 - $63,400 (based on full-time 40 hours per week). NLR considers a candidate’s education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining salary.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match.
• Sick leave (where required by law).
• Eligibility for performance-, merit-, and achievement-based awards that include a monetary component (not guaranteed).
• Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement.

Internships projected to be less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for medical, dental, or vision benefits.

Schedule

• Full-time, 40 hours per week.
• This is likely a 3-month internship.

NLR is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card, which includes a favorable background investigation. Intern assignments extending beyond six months will be subject to this requirement.

NLR is a drug-free workplace. Pre-employment drug testing is required and includes screening for marijuana. A positive test may result in withdrawal of the employment offer.