Head of Manufacturing

About us

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, engineering, culinary and design to make sustainable food that’s both irresistible and available to billions of people worldwide.

The role:

We’re looking for an experienced and passionate Global Head of Manufacturing to join our rapidly growing startup.

You will provide key leadership during the design, build, and development of our manufacturing organization and our first dedicated manufacturing facility.

As a senior leader at Vow you will help to shape the culture of the new team and provide technical and operational leadership to successfully guide Vow’s first product launch into various overseas markets.

The experience you will bring:

• Deep manufacturing expertise with knowledge of industry trends, pain points, business processes, system landscapes, biomanufacturing suppliers, and solutions.

• Prior involvement in the technical design, build, commission, and operation of mammalian cell culture facilities (ideally at pilot scale - ~250 to 10,000L).

• Experience with defining a manufacturing strategy and building biomanufacturing processes for quality and scale.
• Proven track record of establishing and managing successful partnerships and collaborations, including for contract manufacturing.
• Track record for hiring, retaining, and guiding a high performing manufacturing team.
• Expertise in supply chain management
• Expertise implementing and adhering to strict quality and safety measures, including establishing detailed SOPs and QA/QC procedures, operating in a pharmaceutical GMP environment, and adhering to Good Cell Culture Practice (GCCP).
• Experience in food biotech manufacturing is not required, but highly desirable.

You will:

• Manage contract manufacturing partnerships. 
• Own and communicate the vision and roadmap for the manufacturing department for  Vow to achieve 12 months goals , whilst keeping an eye on our long term scalability and opportunities for decreasing production costs.
• Build, develop, and guide a highly capable manufacturing team that strives for operational excellence.
• Guide manufacturing efforts for Vow’s product launch into multiple overseas markets.
• Establish the team and strategy to execute on Vow’s future product launch multiple product lines across multiple geographies. 
• Work closely with Vow’s Regulatory Lead to establish and implement.
• Drive the company’s advancement into a commercial-stage food biotech organisation.

What success looks like:

You will take our world class products to the next level by using first-principle thinking to design, build, and optimise our manufacturing department while keeping an eye on scalability and growth. 

You are a genuine team-player that welcomes ambiguity as an opportunity to move forward and is comfortable with change.

Your excellent organizational skills and collaborative attitude will enable you to build and work effectively to lead a team of highly motivated, diverse, and talented operators to drive Vow’s overarching company goals.

Vow, more than just a job. 

Who we are and why join:

• We are building a diverse, mission-driven dream team of “Vowzers.” Our mission is to make food products for 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 - so we’re building a culture to match. Be yourself and come as you are.
• Work on cutting-edge technology. We’re bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, and food, to recreate the world’s most tantalising and unique culinary experiences. All without compromising on ethics or our planet along the way. Since our inception in 2019, we have held the title of being the first startup to cultivate meat from the cells of an undomesticated animal, and have served up our exotic meats ranging from kangaroo dumplings to alpaca sliders in tastings with world-renowned chefs.
• Work with and learn from the best. Our team includes some of the world’s top scientists, innovators, operators, and creatives with decades of industry experience. Despite our experiences though, we all strive to build, break, learn, and repeat. We see the impossible as temporary and strive to learn and support our company and fellow Vowzers' growth as much as possible.
• We’re fully funded and ready to go. We are a growing Aussie biotech start-up backed by Square Peg Capital, Blackbird Ventures, Grok Ventures and Tenacious Ventures. Read more about why our investors are so excited about the future of Vow here.

Vow perks and benefits:

• Everyone is an owner. In addition to competitive base salaries, each and every ‘Vowzer’ owns equity in the company so we can all benefit from our hard work and future success.
• Generous paid parental leave. We offer 12 weeks for primary carers and 4 weeks for secondary carers.
• Generous relocation budget & support. Support for  interstate or overseas team members and their families (including pets!)
• Flexible working hours and location. We value work-life balance. While we’re mostly back in the office, you’re free to choose the best way for you to work.
• Unlimited Personal Leave. At Vow we recognize that sometimes you need time off to recuperate, look after your mental health, or simply deal with an emergency. We put unlimited personal leave in place to empower you to truly bring your best self to work every single day and you are always paid for days taken off as personal leave.
• Transparent culture. Active transparency to let you effectively contribute to every facet of the business.
• Heaps of tasty samples from our culinary centre. Our fantastic "food inventors" on the Vow team are always cooking up new product prototypes, and all Vowzers are given the opportunity to taste, give feedback, and learn from their culinary prowess
• Company wide professional development & coaching. A huge focus on career support and growth, with access to lots of learning and development opportunities through lunch and learn events, access to webinars and conferences, and networking with our investor and tech community.
• Company wide social events. Monthly birthday celebrations, "Bio Beers" happy hours, breakfast before our fortnightly companywide "All Hands”, annual end of year event and many more. 
• An awesome converted warehouse office in Alexandria. Complete with a glass-walled lab, free snacks, a culinary centre and professional-grade coffee machine + premium coffee bean subscriptions available for all to use in the cafe, and a DIY workshop for all hands-on projects.
• Human and dog friendly office! An inclusive community and culture, in a welcoming office, complete with friendly “Vowzer” dogs!
• A variety of social clubs. We encourage all our Vowzer’s to build the culture with us and share what you love by creating social clubs across the business. From book clubs to hiking groups, we’re always looking for ways to learn and engage with our team.