Ace Your Synthego Interview: The Top 15 Questions You’ll Get Asked and How to Answer Them

Getting hired at a leading biotech innovator like Synthego is no easy task. With competition fiercer than ever for roles at this revolutionary gene editing company you need to enter each interview ready to showcase your skills experience, and fit for the team.

This comprehensive guide will equip you with insights into Synthego’s hiring process and culture, along with the top 15 most commonly asked interview questions—and examples of strong responses. With the right preparation, you can highlight your unique value and land your dream job driving cutting-edge scientific discovery

Overview of Synthego’s Interview Process

The typical Synthego interview process consists of

• Phone Screening: 30-45 minute call with a recruiter or HR rep to evaluate basic qualifications.

• Technical Interview: 1 hour video call focused on your hands-on skills and problem-solving ability. May involve a coding assessment.

• Manager Interview: 1 hour video interview with your potential direct manager. Focuses on cultural fit and ability to collaborate.

• Panel Interview: 2-3 back-to-back 45 minute interviews with cross-functional team members. Tests your communication skills and ability to think on your feet.

• Final Interview: 1 hour in-person/video interview with a senior leader. Assesses strategic thinking and leadership potential.

The process is quite rigorous and can take 4-6 weeks from initial phone screen to final decision. Come prepared to showcase not just your technical expertise, but also your collaborative spirit, curiosity, and commitment to scientific excellence.

Synthego’s Core Values and Culture

Synthego prides itself on a culture of innovation, transparency, and urgency. Core values include:

• Scientific Excellence: Passion for advancing science through technology and research.

• Ownership and Accountability: Individuals take responsibility for outcomes and see projects through to completion.

• Collaboration: Cross-functional teams work closely together to solve complex problems.

• Continuous Improvement: Proactively finding ways to enhance processes, skills, and team capabilities.

• Diversity and Inclusion: Varied perspectives and backgrounds fostering creative solutions.

During your interviews, look for opportunities to demonstrate these values in action through real examples and anecdotes from your background.

15 Common Synthego Interview Questions and How to Ace Them

Here are the top 15 most frequently asked questions during Synthego interviews:

1. Tell me about yourself and why you want to work here.

This is often the opening question, so be ready with a 2-3 minute elevator pitch highlighting your most relevant experience and skills for the role. Share why Synthego appeals to you and how your background would enable you to contribute to their innovative work in synthetic biology.

Strong response: “With over 7 years in pharmaceutical research, I’ve honed my CRISPR and genome editing skills, led successful gene therapy projects, and authored multiple publications. I’m drawn to Synthego because of your mission to accelerate access to improved life sciences tools. My academic research background paired with cross-functional collaboration abilities would enable me to strengthen your high-throughput screening platforms and help drive cutting-edge innovation.”

2. What experience do you have with CRISPR or gene editing techniques?

Demonstrate your hands-on expertise in CRISPR-Cas technologies, synthetic guides, and delivery mechanisms, tailoring your response to the specific role. Discuss projects highlighting your proficiency and any specialized techniques you could bring.

Strong response: “Throughout my doctoral research in genomics, I gained extensive hands-on experience designing and validating CRISPR gRNAs and evaluating editing outcomes with methods like TIDE and Sanger sequencing. I optimized lipofection as an efficient CRISPR delivery mechanism in multiple mammalian cell types. At my last role, I spearheaded CRISPR screening projects, from library design to hit validation. I also have experience with base editing and prime editing, and I’m eager to stay on top of innovations in the field.”

3. How do you stay current in the biotech/synthetic biology field?

Showcase your dedication to continuous learning. Share specific examples like attending conferences, reading journals, taking courses, or networking. Tailor your response to the role’s niche.

Strong response: “I maintain an active subscription to key journals like Cell and Nature Biotechnology to stay abreast of the latest biotech advancements, especially in areas like genome engineering and gene therapy. I try to attend at least 2-3 major conferences per year; most recently I attended the ASHG annual meeting and found the panel on CRISPR clinical advances highly valuable. I’m also involved in several professional organizations and networking groups that enable me to collaborate and exchange ideas with peers working on cutting-edge research.”

4. Tell me about a time you successfully collaborated with a cross-functional team.

Collaboration abilities are highly valued at Synthego. Illustrate a time you partnered across teams or departments to achieve shared goals.

Strong response: “While at a previous lab, our team was tasked with optimizing a high-throughput CRISPR screening assay, which required tight coordination between the automation engineers and bioinformatics groups. Recognizing the interdependencies, I proactively facilitated collaborative design sessions so each group could share needs and considerations early on. This iterative process enabled us to rapidly integrate automation with customized algorithms for maximum efficiency and sensitivity. Our collective effort reduced the assay processing time by 40% while improving data quality.”

5. Describe a complex scientific problem and how you approached solving it.

Use a real example to demonstrate your problem-solving process from diagnosis to resolution. Showcase analytical abilities, creativity, and tenacity.

Strong response: “While investigating transcriptional circuits, we discovered our CRISPRi system had substantial off-target effects, even with guides designed to minimize non-specific binding. By first optimizing transfection to rule out delivery issues, I hypothesized it was a Cas protein problem. After a deep literature review of Cas variants, I selected 3 high-fidelity candidates and experimentally characterized each for on/off target performance. The LbCpfl Cas showed minimal off-targeting while maintaining robust on-target silencing. Adopting this novel Cas, I solved our specificity issue and learned the importance of a rigorous, creative approach when troubleshooting.”

6. Tell me about a challenging situation or conflict you faced at work and how you handled it.

Showcase your communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills. Focus on the positive resolution.

Strong response: “When I joined my last lab, there were disagreements between team members on how to approach a gene therapy project which caused delays. I set up open, 1-on-1 discussions to understand all perspectives. By finding common ground and resetting priorities together, we aligned on arevised plan and timeline. I also implemented weekly touchpoints for more transparent communication moving forward. This improved team cohesion and productivity, enabling us to get the project back on track.”

7. Describe a time you had a conflict with a coworker or supervisor. How was it resolved?

Be honest, take accountability for your part, and emphasize the maturity you showed to reach a productive resolution.

Strong response: “Early in my career, a colleague and I had opposing views on experimental methodology which led to some tension. I could have handled the initial disagreement more professionally. But I took the initiative to meet 1-on-1 and clear the air. We had an open dialogue, understood each other’s perspectives better, and agreed on a combined approach drawing from both our ideas. This experience taught me the value of patience and communication in turning conflicts into constructive discussions.”

8. Tell me about a time you had to rapidly acquire new technical knowledge or skills for your job. How did you approach this?

Demonstrate your self-motivation and ability to quickly get up to speed on new technologies or methods critical to your role.

Strong response: “When I joined my last company, there was an immediate need to implement a high-throughput qPCR platform for a new viral screening project. This was new technology for me. I proactively reached out to the resident experts, went through necessary trainings, practiced my workflow, and collaborated closely with team members experienced with the system. Within 3 weeks, I had mastered the techniques and pipelines necessary to get the project initiated and successfully contribute.”

9. Describe a time when you had multiple assignments or projects due at the same time. What did you do to manage it?

Show you can prioritize tasks, manage time wisely, and handle pressure with grace.

Strong response: *“Earlier this year, I was finishing a publication, preparing two presentations for an upcoming conference, and starting a time-sensitive experiment. To effectively manage this, I created a priority task list and schedule for myself. For the experiment, I brought in a cross-trained colleague to assist with part of the workflow. I also let my manager know about the time conflict early on, so we could shift the team assignments around to ensure nothing slipped through the cracks. Through proactive planning, delegation, and open communication, I successfully delivered high-quality work on everything