About us
Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods grows meat, poultry, and seafood directly from animal cells. These products are not vegan or vegetarian—they are delicious meat, made without the need to raise and slaughter billions of animals. In a historic first, UPSIDE Foods received regulatory approval to sell its product in the US in June 2023.

Founded as the world’s first cultivated meat company in 2015, UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) has achieved numerous industry-defining milestones, including being the first company to produce multiple species of meat (beef, chicken, and duck). The company believes that people shouldn’t have to choose between the foods they love and a thriving planet, and is working to build a better food system with access to delicious, humane, and sustainable meat, poultry, and seafood. UPSIDE Foods has won various industry awards, including New York Times’ Good Tech Awards, FastCo’s Next Big Thing in Tech, and the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources. UPSIDE Foods has raised a total of $608 million, including from the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Baillie Gifford, Bill Gates, Cargill, John Doerr, John Mackey, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest, Richard Branson, Softbank, Temasek, Threshold, Tyson Foods, and others.

About this job

UPSIDE Food’s Engineering, Production, & Innovation Center (EPIC) is not only pioneering the future of cultivated meat, but soon to be producing the world’s first USDA inspected cultivated meat. The foundation of any food manufacturing program starts with sanitation and UPSIDE Foods is looking to add a Sanitation Manager to continue to drive sanitary excellence and help our manufacturing operation grow. This role is responsible for continuing development and implementation of strategic sanitation programs, policies, plans and processes to ensure that sanitary performance meets regulatory and UPSIDE Food standards. This role will have close interaction with FDA and USDA and partnership with the EPIC’s production and food safety and quality teams.

Responsibilities include

• Oversees and manages the sanitation program to ensure compliance with internal and regulatory standards.
• Partners with FSQA and other teams for continuous improvement in sanitary practices and plant cleanliness.
• Daily management of the 3rd party sanitation team to meet production and master sanitation schedule needs.
• Develop and validate plant Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs) through coordination with equipment manufacturers and third-party chemical and service providers.
• Serves as sanitation point of contact with federal and state agencies to ensure plant compliance with regulatory issues.

About you

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) and 6+ years of GFSI program management experience.
• Preferred experience in chemical and/or microbiology testing.
• Self-starter who relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals.
• As part of a team tasked with reacting and improving, able to receive data, interpret, and improve as necessary.
• Demonstrated history of interacting with USDA inspection and pre-op.
• Enjoys constantly changing and complex environments, developing team members, and always striving to make processes and experiences better.
• Bilingual (English and Spanish) is preferred

Who you’ll work with

• Daily coordination with plant, food safety & quality, and production management to ensure production and regulatory needs are supported.
• Close partnership with food safety and quality management to plan and implement the necessary changes to further improve SQF program.
• Internal and external team members, vendors and regulators to drive compliance.

Key Contributions in First Year

• Optimize the master sanitation schedule and reporting system.
• Complete all cleaning validations and with the FSQA teams schedule audits and other verification activities.
• Streamline chemical supply and cost budget.
• Partner with engineering and production teams to optimize CIP and COP systems where applicable.

Compensation Range: $69,000 - $120,000*
*Pay may vary depending on factors including job-related knowledge and skills.

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
• 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.