Sr. Scientist: Functional Genomics & Genome Editing

Senior Scientist- Functional Genomics & Genome Editing

Innovation Oasis

Science and Research

Plant Genetics

Reporting Lines

Research Manager- Gene Editing

Job Purpose

The Center of Excellence for Abiotic Resilience and Crop Genomics (ARC-Gen) is a partnership between Silal, the UAE’s leading agri-food and technology company, and Limagrain Vegetable Seeds (LVS), the world leader in Vegetable Seeds. This partnership is aiming to develop a world class research facility in UAE with state-of-the-art capabilities in plant physiology and gene editing, with the ultimate goal of enhancing crops’ ability to withstand extreme conditions such as heat, drought, and salinity.

As a Senior Scientist in Gene Editing, you will manage research projects in delivery systems, advanced gene editing tools and editing strategies to support the establishment of a Gene editing Research Unit at SILAL and the development of genome -edited plants designed to withstand abiotic stress in arid and desert-like growing conditions.

Your work will contribute directly to global priorities such as food security, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience .

Key Responsibilities

Explore and adopt state-of-the-art technologies in genome editing.

Optimize protocols for gene delivery in SILAL strategic vegetable crops.

Design and conduct experiments to test, validate and apply editing strategies using CRISPR/Cas9 and other genetic engineering tools.

Contribute to functional genomics studies to elucidate gene functions and regulatory networks related to abiotic stresses.

Work collaboratively with experts across disciplines (cell biology, genomics, bioinformatics, trait development, and pre-breeding) to deliver an integrated genomics pipeline.

Collaborate with Biotechnology experts, including sequencing, biostatistics, and bioinformatics, to consolidate, analyze and interpret experimental data for meaningful conclusions.

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate improved CRISPR tools into various projects and applications

Prepare detailed reports and presentations to communicate results to internal teams and end users.

Participate in collaborations and interact with external partners.

Foster a collaborative and innovative research environment.

Project Leadership & Management:

Propose, design, and manage research projects independently.

Act as an expert in your domain and collaborate across research areas for timely delivery.

Drive innovation and continuous improvement to accelerate research processes.

Ensure efficient transfer of deliverables and know-how to end users.

Mentor and supervise lab technicians.

Stakeholder Management

Key Internal Stakeholders

Key External Stakeholders

All Sectors, Departments and Offices

Any other concerned internal stakeholders as required

Concerned government, semi-government and private sector entities

Any other concerned external stakeholders as required

Required Qualification

Designing and validating precise editing strategies (CRISPR/Cas9, base/prime editing) for crop improvement.

Expert

Mastering transformation techniques like Agrobacterium or biolistic to deliver editing tools into plant cells.

Identifying and manipulating gene regulatory networks to enhance heat, drought, and salinity tolerance.

Collaborating with biostatisticians to analyze sequencing data and interpret complex genomic results.

Managing the full transition of edited traits from lab-scale proof of concept to pre-breeding applications.