Research Associate I, MSAT

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. The founding company of the industry, UPSIDE Foods is a mission-driven organization 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 Research Associate (Manufacturing Sciences and Technology Development, MSAT) will be responsible for running cell and tissue culture processes and performing routine characterization under the direction of the MSAT team to support the development and scale-up of novel platforms for the cultivation of cell cultured meat. You should be capable of designing, troubleshooting, and executing bioreactor-based experiments independently while employing critical thinking and scientific methodology. This laboratory-based position requires wet-bench work on a daily basis on several concurrent projects, followed by analysis and interpretation of the data, presentation of findings to colleagues, and suggestion of follow-up experiments. This interdisciplinary role will require strong communication skills, diligence, and self-management. 

We hope to find someone creative and enthusiastic, who enjoys hands-on work, to be part of our growing team. To accelerate the pace of our learning, this role is expected to routinely shift time from a daytime weekday schedule in order to perform work on weekday evenings, and weekends.

Responsibilities include… 

• Creating an environment of trust, continuous improvement, and learning.
• Performing lab to manufacturing scale bioreactor operations and cell culture experiments.
• Acquiring and analyzing data independently; recording all experimental designs, data, observations, and results in an electronic laboratory notebook.
• Maintain process specific inventory of parts and consumables.
• Support tech transfers from R&D into pilot and commercial manufacturing. 

About you…

• 1+ years of bioprocess development experience, preferably in industry, but academic setting considered.
• BS in cell biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, chemical engineering or related life sciences field. 
• Skilled with bioreactor (1-1000L) setup, operation, and troubleshooting.
• Excellent knowledge of basic safety, good laboratory practices and aseptic technique.
• Must be comfortable working independently and on a team.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Able to work during evenings and weekends routinely to provide coverage for ongoing experiments.

Who you’ll work with…

• This role will partner with every function in the company! It’s a rare opportunity to learn about all parts of the business and industry.
• While we expect growth in all functions in the next 1-2 years, this role will most frequently interact with our R&D and Tech Ops teams.

Key Contributions in First Year…

• Increase rate of large scale (>100L) runs from once per month to two per month, working with senior researchers. 
• Consumables inventory system for MSAT team with forward consumption planning and requesting that interfaces with Supply Chain systems.
• Maintenance of cell seed trains according to established performance metrics for >9 months.

UPSIDE Benefits!

• Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
• 90-100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical [including HSA and FSA], dental, and vision)
• Pet insurance for your furry family members!
• 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.