Full-Time
Project Engineer
Posted on 10/31/2025
Plantible Foods
11-50 employees
B2B plant-based protein ingredients from lemna
No salary listed
Austin, TX, USA + 1 more
More locations: Sonora, TX, USA
In Person
Regular travel between Eldorado and Austin; on-site when engineering support is needed.
 Process Engineering |
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- Bachelor's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related field
- Five to ten or more years delivering industrial or infrastructure capital projects (bioprocess, chemicals, energy, food and beverage, controlled environment agriculture greenhouse projects, or aquaculture) with full lifecycle experience from design through construction and start-up
- Upstream and downstream literacy including greenhouse structures, environmental controls, fertigation/irrigation, drainage/site works, instrumentation and control systems, and supervisory control and data acquisition
- Processing systems knowledge including pumps and tanks, heat exchange, microfiltration/ultrafiltration/reverse osmosis, clean-in-place processes, dryers, and utilities (steam, air, chilled water, power) and packaging
- Project delivery toolkit experience with bid events or requests for quotes, supplier selection and negotiation, and contractor oversight; ability to leverage third-party engineering and construction firms is a plus
- Standards and safety knowledge including process hazard analysis, hazard and operability studies, lockout-tagout, management of change, pre-startup safety reviews; awareness of structural and wind considerations for agricultural structures; familiarity with codes such as ASME, API, NFPA, and ISA-style guidelines
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, decisive documentation, and cross-functional alignment
- Bias toward action with hands-on field orientation for troubleshooting, commissioning, and operator training; ability to manage multiple projects concurrently
- Deliver projects from Front-End Loading phases through start-up, including FEL-1/2/3, detailed design, procurement, construction, commissioning, performance validation, and handover
- Execute design, specification, and construction management of manufacturing modules, including upgrades to existing production facilities
- Develop preliminary and then refined budget estimates and project schedules for active and prospective projects
- Engage and maintain relationships with major equipment suppliers to optimize facility design
- Act as the primary technical lead during negotiations of major surface facility equipment supply contracts
- Collaborate across technical and commercial teams to deliver projects on time and on budget
- Identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities and measures
- Provide solutions and optimization support to operations to resolve day-to-day operational issues
- Develop projects and engineering designs that improve safety and operability of modules
- Lead Management of Change processes for all activities including coordination with support functions, submission of Management of Change documents, and completion of Pre-Startup Safety Reviews
- Provide creative project options to meet critical timelines or capital requirements
- Support project teams and operations in the commissioning and start-up of new or modified facilities
- Serve as a key interface to ensure regulatory and Health, Safety, and Environment compliance
- Design, improve, and install equipment and engineering solutions to enhance performance and robustness of the commercial facility
- Project Management Professional certification, Professional Engineer license, or Construction Management credentials
- Experience in controlled environment agriculture, hydroponics, agricultural civil engineering
- Water reuse or stormwater design experience
- Modular replication experience
- Spanish language proficiency
Plantible Foods produces a plant-based protein ingredient called Rubi Protein for other food makers. It grows lemna, an aquatic plant, in its own aqua-farms to create a scalable, sustainable protein that is free from major allergens and has a neutral taste and color. The product is sold as an ingredient to food manufacturers for use in baked goods, plant-based meats, dairy alternatives, and nutritional supplements, enabling them to formulate new or improved plant-based products without worrying about allergen issues. The company differentiates itself by controlling its supply chain through in-house aquafarming and by delivering a neutral, versatile protein that can be incorporated across many product categories. Its goal is to meet increasing demand for sustainable, healthy foods by expanding production capacity and broadening its customer base among B2B food manufacturers.
Company Size
11-50
Company Stage
Series B
Total Funding
$73.7M
Headquarters
San Marcos, California
Founded
2016
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Chipotle and Betagro $30M Series B fuel Texas expansion and Asia entry.
- Rubi Whisk egg replacer outperforms eggs in baked goods and pasta.
- Eldorado facility operational, plans triple capacity with new strains.
What critics are saying
- Living Ink undercuts Rubi pricing 20-30%, erodes B2B contracts.
- Every Company pea protein displaces lemna in baked goods market.
- Egg stabilization cuts Rubi Whisk demand 60% post-avian flu.
What makes Plantible Foods unique
- Rubi Protein from lemna offers neutral taste, 85% protein, and complete amino acids.
- FDA GRAS clearance first for isolated RuBisCO in food applications.
- Aqua-farms use 10x less water than soybeans, no arable land needed.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Paid Holidays
401(k) Retirement Plan
Relocation Assistance
Flexible Work Hours
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -2%1 year growth
↑ 0%2 year growth
↑ 2%Plantible Foods has received a "No Questions" letter from the FDA regarding its GRAS notice for Rubi Protein, making it the first company to gain FDA acknowledgment for isolated RuBisCO protein in food applications. The regulatory milestone clears the way for large-scale commercial adoption. Rubi Protein is derived from water lentils grown in enclosed greenhouses and contains approximately 85% protein by weight. The ingredient offers neutral taste, high solubility and strong emulsification properties, suitable for baked goods, beverages, dairy alternatives and plant-based products. Plantible opened its first commercial facility in Eldorado, Texas, last year and plans to expand capacity to meet growing customer demand. The San Diego-based company was founded by Tony Martens and Maurits van de Ven.
Plantible Foods' first commercial facility in Eldorado, Texas, is now fully operational, extracting RuBisCO protein from lemna (duckweed). After securing $30 million in Series B funding last year, the company seeks additional financing to triple its current capacity of thousands of metric tons of biomass annually. An upgraded protein filtration system and a proprietary high-yield lemna strain have been introduced to enhance cash flow positivity, according to CEO Tony Martens.
Chipotle Mexican Grill has invested in Plantible, a San Marcos, CA-based company developing plant-based protein. The investment amount was not disclosed. Plantible plans to use the funds to expand its operations and development efforts. The company produces Rubi protein™ from Lemna, aiming to offer a cleaner, healthier, and allergen-friendly alternative to animal-based proteins and synthetic ingredients.
Non-profit's strategic investment tackles the funding gap between climate innovation and widespread adoption.HONOLULU and SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Elemental Impact , a leading non-profit technology investor, announced today $18.6 million in investments across 16 companies deploying projects in Texas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Colorado, Tennessee, and international markets.This announcement is part of the non-profit's larger investing strategy that includes initial investments to build a pipeline of critical climate companies and projects, follow-on funding to promising projects with local impact, and the newly announced Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) program for later-stage commercialized technologies, for which investments are expected to be announced in the new year.These investments represent one of the many ways Elemental continues to tackle the $150B "Scale Gap," a critical challenge and funding shortfall climate companies face during first-of-a-kind (FOAK) and early commercial deployments. While these technologies have proven their potential, this funding gap often results in a lack of necessary capital to scale up these innovations, creating a barrier to the widespread adoption."We are seeing extraordinary demand for capital from entrepreneurs who are ready to scale, but who face a critical funding gap," said Dawn Lippert, CEO of Elemental Impact. "These 16 new investments prove that philanthropy can enable projects in rural towns, Tribal lands, urban areas, and wild ecosystems -- and unlock significant private investment."After vetting more than 7,000 companies this year, Elemental selected companies representing four emerging themes: accelerating the next era of U.S. manufacturing, building a resilient supply chain, strengthening rural and tribal access, and scaling a regenerative food system. They will now join a portfolio of more than 160 companies that have created over 10,000 jobs, all working to scale their solutions and create meaningful economic benefits in local communities
BETAGRO Ventures, part of Betagro Public Company Limited, announced a successful $30 million Series B investment in Plantible, a U.S.-based biotech company specializing in plant-based proteins. The investment aims to expand Plantible's production capacity in Texas and increase its revenue tenfold within 12 months. This strategic partnership will leverage Plantible's Rubi Protein® to meet high-quality nutritional demands in Southeast Asia, aligning with Betagro's sustainable food goals.