About us:
Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods grows meat, poultry, and seafood directly from real animal cells. These products are not vegan or vegetarian—they are delicious meat, made without the need to raise and slaughter billions of animals. In doing so, the company aims to address some of the most pressing environmental, animal welfare, and public health challenges, while still giving people the meat they love.
Founded as the world’s first cultivated meat company in 2015, UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) has achieved numerous industry-defining milestones, including being the first company to produce multiple species of meat (beef, chicken, and duck) and to sell a cultivated meat product in the United States. The company believes that people shouldn’t have to choose between the foods they love and a thriving planet, and is working to build a better food system with access to delicious, humane, and sustainable meat, poultry, and seafood.
UPSIDE Foods has won various industry awards, including New York Times’ Good Tech Awards, FastCo’s Next Big Thing in Tech and World Changing Ideas Awards, and the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources. UPSIDE Foods has raised a total of $608 million, including from the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Baillie Gifford, Bill Gates, Cargill, John Doerr, John Mackey, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest, Richard Branson, Softbank, Temasek, Threshold, Tyson Foods, and others.
About this job:
The Scientist/Engineer I, Bioprocess Development (BPD), will support the scale-up of novel platforms for the cultivation of cell-cultivated meat, support pilot and large-scale production operations, and implement process transfer to commercial scale. We are searching for a person with both scientific and operational experience between pilot operations and cGMP manufacturing scales and who is excited to implement new processes and novel technologies. We are excited to bring on a self-starter who finds as much joy in the laboratory as they do at the desk to be part of our growing team.
Responsibilities include:
- Lead and execute pilot and bench scale production runs as part of the Bioprocess Development team in collaboration with R&D and Manufacturing leading into process development, technology transfer activities and execution of production runs including person-in-plant support.
- Lead new process development, including selection, installation, and evaluation of new bioreactor technologies and development of operating procedures.
- Plan, execute, and analyze experiments ranging from bench through pilot scale, leading to process transfer at commercial scale and manufacturing support.
- Responsible for day-to-day operations and management of bench and/or pilot scale bioreactors with perfusion experience desired.
- Data mining of bioprocesses to enable process optimization.
- Author, review, and revise batch records and sample plans in support of pilot and commercial manufacturing process changes.
About you:
- BS in cell/molecular biology, chemical/bioengineering, or related life sciences degree with 5+ years of related experience, which should include cell culture bioprocess development and process transfer across size scales; or MS with 3+ years/PhD with 1+ years of related experience; some experience with perfusion strongly preferred.
- Experienced with scale-up/scale-down of bioreactors, process transfer to production and with cGMP operations or pilot plant operations preferred.
- Detail-oriented, well-organized, and comfortable with change and ambiguity.
- Ability to relate with people at all levels within an organization, including diverse cultures.
- Must be willing and able to work evenings and weekends as needed.
Who you’ll work with:
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The BPD team interfaces with all aspects of R&D, BPD and Manufacturing, and this person will accordingly be expected to work with stakeholders across the organization to design studies, and manage handoffs of materials and data.
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To support tech transfer and manufacturing operations, this person will be expected to prepare process documentation, transfer processes into manufacturing, and provide on the floor support.
Compensation Range: $90,000 - $110,000*
*Pay may vary depending on factors including job-related knowledge and skills.
UPSIDE Benefits!
- Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
- 90-100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical [including HSA and FSA], dental, and vision)
- Pet insurance for your furry family members!
- Unlimited PTO
- Employee Engagement Council
- Company-sponsored learning & development opportunities
UPSIDE Foods is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Our company-wide mission is to create a product for everyone, so we are deeply committed to having teams and leaders that reflect this mission.
