In bacteria, carbon distribution among diverse pathways is tightly regulated. However, metabolism can be altered for biotechnology, as illustrated by this dissertation which centers on new methods of protein engineering and on rerouting aromatic compound biosynthesis via the shikimate pathway. The first step in this pathway involves synthesis of 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate (DAHP) from phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and erythrose-4-phosphate (E4P). The long-term goal is for bacteria to convert renewable biomass to commodity chemicals. Some industrially important compounds, such as cis,cis-muconate, can be biomanufactured by modifying aromatic compound biosynthesis. As part of a larger strategy to increase product yields, bacterial isozymes for DAHP synthesis were replaced with a non-native aldolase in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 and Pseudomonas putida KT2440. This aldolase, DgoA, uses E4P and pyruvate, rather than PEP, to form DAHP, although this reaction is catalyzed poorly. Growth with DgoA-dependent DAHP synthesis was initially limiting (auxotrophic) because of insufficient synthesis of aromatic amino acids. Using adaptive laboratory evolution, mutants were selected in which fast DgoA-dependent prototrophic growth reflected the selection of enzyme variants and metabolic changes. A. baylyi and P. putida mutants were characterized by whole genome sequencing. Mutations arose in genes encoding key enzymes of central metabolism, indicating that biochemical perturbation led to compensatory changes in carbon flux. Similarities and differences in mutations that arose in different experiments are discussed. Because A. baylyi has a uniquely powerful genetic system, and P. putida is a good host for biomanufacturing, studies of both are complementary. I developed an in vivo mutagenesis method in A. baylyi that involves recombination between donor DNA and the chromosome of the recipient. Multiple copies of a target chromosomal region in the recipient can undergo gene dosage variation to modulate expression. This method was used to isolate DgoA variants with increased DAHP synthesizing activity. In P. putida, a strain was engineered to convert glucose to cis,cis-muconate using DgoA-dependent DAHP synthesis. Both bacteria were used to develop a semi-quantitative cross feeding assay to detect cis,cis-muconate produced by P. putida. These studies contribute to new approaches for metabolic engineering aimed at reducing societal dependence on petrochemicals.