Senior Food Scientist

Vow is a food company -- a very different one. We’re creating real meat products from animal cells, instead of the animal itself. We’re bringing together cutting edge innovations in science, technology, culinary and design to make sustainable food that’s both irresistible and accessible for billions of people worldwide.

The work that we are doing is a critical step on the path to creating a future where humans can exist in sustainable harmony with our planet, something we can proudly hand over to our children and grandchildren. We’re not only making food that is great for humans and great for the earth, but also creating food that is the most delicious, desirable choice of any food available. This is a mission we believe in deeply.

In our short history since founding in April 2019, we’ve grown to be a team of 13 and gained a lot of attention for our world-first: the first kangaroo meat cultured in a lab (Wall Street Journal, The Australian and Channel 9). We’ve now grown 7 species and counting, with an even more ambitious plan through 2021 and beyond. We’re backed by Australia’s most prolific VC firm Blackbird Ventures, alongside a long list of prominent investors and partners.‍

As Vow's first food science hire, you will be responsible for establishing our food science function, defining workflows and building a team - an incredibly important role. You'll be working closely with the Science team to iterate on food products, turning biological breakthroughs into incredible culinary experiences. You will take incredible new food products all the way from idea to product-in-market, solving a whole swathe of global issues in the process.

We are looking for someone excited about playing with a huge repertoire of new flavours and sensory functions, having the freedom and backing to try entirely new things in food product development, all while working in a fast growing and mission-driven environment.

This is an incredible time to join Vow, and really own the direction of a critical piece of the company's future. You'll be able to take your experience and background in food science and be given the resources and backing to truly make this role your own.

What you'll do:

• Take ownership in the design of new food products, including interpreting customer needs and assembling input from both scientific and commercial teams.
• Evaluate technical feasibility from a food perspective.
• Conduct a wide range of analytical tests, sensory and consumer testing, shelf life and product stability studies, and recommend storage and handling requirements.
• Develop an initial sensory procedure for an in-house sensory panel.
• Develop and implement both new and existing methods to measure foods.
• Design, plan and execute experiments for bench top, pilot plant and plant trials, gather and analyze data, document and report results, and make recommendations.
• Research literature and prior innovations and transfer theory to empirical research in the food lab.
• Develop ingredient statements and ensure products meet appropriate food safety standards.
• Leverage lab instrumentation like the texture analyzer, rheometer and moisture analyzer.
• Iterate constantly on recipes, with both hands-on and digital tools.
• Source and manage the first product development team hires.
• Recommend and select the purchase and lease of equipment for the food science lab.
• Manage key relationships with external partners and vendors for ingredient sourcing, evaluation, costing, qualification and specification.

In return, we will support you with:

• We’ll work tirelessly to provide you a productive, safe, supportive and collaborative work environment.
• Active transparency to let you actively contribute to every facet of the business.
• Access to gym facilities.
• No legacy overheads -- the freedom to define the best approach to solving problems, both technically and organisationally.
• High-stakes work that matters deeply to the company and the world. A mission for you to sink your skills and passion into.
• Opportunities for meaningful ownership including equity position in the company.

About you:

• You're a true foodie, obsessed with making incredible culinary products.
• You're proactive and thrive on ambiguity in the rapidly evolving world of a startup.
• You're intimidatingly organised and raise the bar for everyone you work with.
• You're great at managing all of the moving pieces in a project and rarely let things slip through the cracks.
• You're kind, curious and enjoy learning new things.
• You care that you’re building something that solves a problem and helps end users.

Selection Criteria:

Required experience / skills:

• Master’s degree or PhD in Food Biotechnology , Food Science or related fields.
• 5+ years of product development with experience commercialising a product through the stages of bench, pilot, and scale.
• Strong proficiency in processing technologies and equipment.
• Fundamental understanding of meat and/ or flavour science on a molecular level.
• Ability to think and work independently and manage multiple projects.
• Proven track record of innovative research and development projects in startup or similar environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good experience with project management.

Ideally you also have experience in:

• Meat science.
• Culinary, restaurant or fine dining industries.

Ultimately this role will be shaped around the right candidate. If you love the mission and want to work on some of the most exciting and impactful problems on the planet today we want to speak to you.

Vow’s mission is to make food products for everyone, and we mean everyone. To do that well we need a workforce that’s representative of the people we serve. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view, we are inclusive and we believe diversity drives innovation - so we’re building a culture to match. Uniqueness is powerful - be yourself and come as you are.

How to apply

See here.