Bacteria can be engineered to manufacture chemicals, but it is unclear how to optimally engineer a single cell to maximise
production performance from batch cultures. Moreover, the performance of engineered production pathways is affected by
competition for the host’s native resources. Here, using a “host-aware” computational framework which captures competition
for both metabolic and gene expression resources, we uncover design principles for engineering the expression of host and
production enzymes at the cell level which maximise volumetric productivity and yield from batch cultures. However, this
does not break the fundamental growth-synthesis trade-off which limits production performance. We show that engineering
genetic circuits to switch cells to a high synthesis-low growth state after first growing to a large population can further improve
performance. By analysing different circuit topologies, we show that highest performance is achieved by circuits that inhibit
host metabolism to redirect it to product synthesis. Our results should facilitate construction of microbial cell factories with
high and efficient production capabilities.