Director of Product Development

About us

UPSIDE Foods is innovating new ways to produce real meat, without the need to raise and slaughter animals. Our process begins with an animal cell, which is cultivated and harvested as meat. The founding company of the industry, UPSIDE Foods is a mission-driven organization focused on bringing 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 Director of Product Development will be a critical enterprise leader at UPSIDE Foods and will help create history by developing and delivering some of the first cultivated meat products to the world! You should have deep expertise and experience in product development in the food industry (meat industry is a plus), from formulation through commercialization and manufacturing. In addition, you should also have the ability and creativity to operate in and help define a new industry and category. This will require a growth mindset, creative problem-solving, strong collaboration, communication and leadership skills, and the ability to leverage prior experience but not be limited by it. 

As the Director, you will oversee the daily operations of the Product Development team at UPSIDE Foods, as well as help set the strategic direction and vision for the team. You will oversee research and development programs and play a critical role in translating products into pilot and commercial-scale manufacturing environments.

This role will be a critical partner to upstream R&D teams that are cultivating the meat cells and developing scalable bioprocesses and will work hand in hand with the marketing, product, and manufacturing teams to create and deliver consumer-beloved products. These products could include familiar meat, poultry, and seafood-based formulations as well as more novel food products or species. 

This role will require the blending of conventional meat processing and food formulation knowledge and relationships as well as building existing and new food techniques, intellectual property, and skill sets both in yourself and on your staff. You will lead a motivated, passionate team to transform cultivated raw materials into desirable, delicious food products for everyone. Existing sub-functions include raw material characterization, product formulation, sensory and product scale-up and commercialization (including processing, production and packaging).   

In addition, the Director of Product Development will secure and/or manage key relationships with external parties and will need to have a level of maturity and discretion to handle these with sensitivity and thoughtfulness. 

The ideal candidate is eager to take on new challenges, can inspire and lead a team through ambiguous and dynamic environments, has an appropriate sense of urgency, and can deliver results in the right way. 

Duties include

• Set strategic vision and priorities for the Product Development team based upon organization product roadmapping and goals
• Manage the daily operations of the team
• Coordinate research activities with broader R&D team as well as the scaled production team to ensure appropriate handoffs, and collaborate effectively with marketing, product, and production and manufacturing teams to deliver on product vision 
• Conceptualize, design, and manage experiments enhancing texture, taste, functionality and appearance of novel meat products
• Determine and deliver key critical quality attributes for each species or product
• Deploy efficient novel solutions to new production modalities and product formats
• Determine when activities are best done in-house production versus via contract manufacturing or external partnerships
• Collaborate with outside strategic partners in exploring, developing and implementing emerging technologies that would support the development and growth of novel cultivated meat production 
• Build and develop a world-class cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood product development team, from formulation through commercialization 
• Navigate both FDA and USDA regulations for meat, poultry, and seafood production
• Communicate effectively with the Senior Leadership Team and Chief Executives
• Work collaboratively with safety and quality teams to ensure compliance with regulations and record-keeping requirements, develop a food safety and quality management plan, and develop internal training programs on the above and equipment operations

About you

• 10+ years of operational and leadership excellence in meat and/or food processing - from product research and development through commercialization
• Demonstrated track record in successfully developing and launching consumer meat and/or food products 
• Deep understanding in operating food process technologies, equipment and go-to vendors
• Ability to work at multiple levels at the same time - developing high-level strategy, navigating complex partner relationships, and rolling up your sleeves to work with the team 
• Demonstrable expertise in building or running multiple meat processing facilities and/or multiple product lines
• Capability to lead strategic implementation of multiple product lines and/or species simultaneously
• Familiarity with U.S. meat, poultry, and seafood export requirements
• Familiarity with international production requirements
• Working knowledge of animal physiology, meat science, or cell biology
• Strong communicator, poised executive 
• Ability to travel as a part of the role, as needed

Desired, but not necessary

• MS or PhD in meat science, food science, chemical engineering, genetic/cell biology, or equivalent

UPSIDE Benefits!

• Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
• 100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical, dental, vision)
• Unlimited PTO / 3 Weeks PTO Accrued Annually
• DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Council and People Engagement Programs
• 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.