Research Associate II, Media Development

About us

At the forefront of farming and food, UPSIDE Foods is innovating new ways to produce real meat, without the need to breed, feed and slaughter animals. Our process begins with an animal cell, which is cultivated and harvested as meat. UPSIDE Foods is a mission-driven company focused on bringing to meat lovers an authentic product that is truly humane, sustainably produced, nutritious and delicious! We are now expanding our team of dedicated professionals across disciplines to make better meat for a better world.

About this job

The R&D Research Associate, Media Development will be responsible for setting up and running experiments to develop cell culture media formulations. The R&D Research Associate will also aid in the analysis and interpretation of data and provide input for future experiments. 

Duties include

• Animal cell/tissue culture techniques including thawing, subculturing, freezing, and single-cell cloning.
• Cell culture media development (serum-free/chemically defined).
• Set up and execute experiments - done independently or with guidance from team/project lead for complex experiments.
• Proficient data collection, management, and interpretation. Take an active role in determining the next steps alongside the project team/lead.
• Provides input for further experiments based on data and objectives.
• Works across traditional and high throughput cell culture platforms at multiple scales.
• Develops new and refines existing procedures for relevant areas.         
•  Maintains laboratory notebooks with detailed experimental designs and results.

About you

• B.S. or M.S. in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioengineering or closely related science with 2+ years of research laboratory experience.
• Working knowledge or hands-on experience of cell culture processes.
• Experience or understanding the use of high-throughput instrumentation.
• Experience with statistical software like JMP, Minitab, Simca, etc. is desirable
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving, and cross-functional environment.
• Comfortable developing scientific knowledge base by learning new methods from peers, seminars and scientific literature.
• Fosters a team environment collaborating scientifically with team members. 
• Maintains laboratory notebooks with detailed experimental designs and results. 
• Prepares written project reports and presents oral updates/summaries at team meetings. 

Desirable skills

• Working knowledge of statistical design of experiment techniques (DOE).
• Mammalian and/or avian cell culture and recombinant protein expression. e.g.  generation of stable cell lines expressing relevant levels of a recombinant protein.
• Experience with protein analysis methods (i.e, Western blot, FACS, and immunocytochemistry).