Product developer, cheese

over 2 years ago
Full time role
Oakland, CA, US... more
Oakland, CA, US... more

Job Description

Summary
We’re looking for a cheesemaker to help us create a more sustainable food system. You appreciate the craft and tradition of cheesemaking; love fast-paced, methodical, hands-on work; and possess an enduring curiosity in creating new kinds of cheese. And most importantly, you share our values. This position is based in Oakland, CA and offers competitive salary and equity.


About Tezza
Tezza is an early-stage public benefit corporation focused on climate change and sustainability. Our vision is a world where on every menu, grocery shelf, and table, the most exciting foods are also the most sustainable. To achieve this, our mission is to use modern, high-throughput science to discover cultured foods that tap into the diversity of the microbial world.

We are starting with a new category of aged, hard cheeses—that happen to be made from plants. The dairy industry produces more than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions—more than aviation—and poses further sustainability as well as animal-welfare challenges. We provide better, more affordable, and healthier products that bring people together around a shared love of food.


About the position
You will be working with us to craft a new category of cheese made from plants. Some of your responsibilities include:

  • Work with plant and microbial ingredients to produce and develop new types of aged cheeses
  • Analyze cheeses and alter production methods based on scientific principles
    Work with the science team to manipulate microbes in the context of cheese
  • Coordinate pilot production
  • Work with the founder to set up production with manufacturing partners
  • Work with the science and brand teams to pursue our mission
  • This position is preferably full time and not fully remote 


Qualifications

  • A bachelor’s or associate’s degree in dairy science, food science, or a life science
  • A deeply held conviction in our mission and values
  • Experience doing research on or making cheese or other cultured dairy products in a commercial setting
  • Comfort seeking new material from books and research papers
  • Willing to work very short hours on occasional weekends to take care of cheeses
  • Excited to do hands-on, detail oriented, manual and cerebral work
  • Significant physical and mental endurance for on-your-feet active work for up to 10 hours at a time, as shown by experience in manual work or endurance sports
  • Desire to take on daunting production challenges with zeal

What do you get out of it?

  • Work on global sustainability problems via a hands-on, tasty product
  • Large growth potential in different areas (management, research, operations, manufacturing, branding, etc)
  • Learn about different aspects of building an early-stage startup
  • We focus on growth, and we hire you not for this position, but for your next three positions. We will work with you to craft a learning plan to achieve your personal and career goals, at Tezza or elsewhere
  • A chance to build the kind of place where you’d like to work

If interested, what should you do?
We build relationships thoughtfully, and this approach takes time. Over multiple conversations, we will seek to understand how we can support you, and hopefully you will find out whether we are a good fit for your goals or simply a bunch of nutcases. You can learn about our values, hiring process, and benefits here.

To apply, please email join@tezzafoods.com with a resume and responses to the following prompts (a conversational, unpolished tone is fine):

  1. What motivates you right now? When you think about your short life, what motivates you for the long term? And most importantly, why? Where did those motivations come from?
  2. What are the most important things that you are striving to improve in yourself? What are you doing to work on them? And how would that work either amplify a superpower or cure an achilles heel?

Tezza is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability status. But we acknowledge that we are flawed humans within a flawed society. We do our best and apologize and learn when that’s not enough.

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