Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods grows meat, poultry, and seafood directly from real 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 doing so, the company aims to address some of the most pressing environmental, animal welfare, and public health challenges, while still giving people the meat they love.

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) and to sell a cultivated meat product in the United States. 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 World Changing Ideas Awards, 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

The Principal Scientist, Bioprocess Development (BPD) will support the scale-up of novel platforms for the cultivation of cultivated meat and be responsible for supporting pilot scale to large scale production operations. We are searching for a person with both scientific and operational expertise, and who is able to provide technical leadership between development laboratories, pilot operations, and cGMP manufacturing scales. We are excited to bring on a self-starter who finds as much joy in the laboratory as they do at the desk to be part of our growing team. The ideal candidate would have a history of working with an interdisciplinary team to implement bioprocesses leading into technology transfers and manufacturing process support.

Responsibilities include

Lead technology transfer activities and technical support of processes in production including managing person-in-plant support as part of the Manufacturing Sciences and Technology (MSAT) sub-team with BPD.
Independently design, oversee and analyze experiments ranging from bench through pilot scale, leading to process transfer to commercial scale and manufacturing support.
Drive the evaluation, development and implementation of new manufacturing technologies.
Lead new process scale-up, including selection, installation and evaluation of new bioreactor technologies and development of operating procedures.
Act as the subject matter technical expert for large scale animal cell bioprocesses.
Mentor and lead junior team members to accomplish project goals.
Support regulatory filings and facility startup as needed.

About you

A total of 15+ years of experience as below in mammalian cell culture bioprocess development and process transfer across scales in academic and industry settings.
Advanced degrees are preferred with a combined equivalent of relevant industrial experience in cell biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, chemical engineering or related life sciences field
Experienced with cGMP operations and/or pilot plant operations with 5+ years Management experience leading staff and teams responsible for process development and/or technology transfer and manufacturing support.
Experience with leading the development and/or tech transfer of upstream bioreactor modes of operations such as fed-batch or perfusion into production with animal or mammalian suspension cells at large scale is required. (Large scale bioprocess and cell retention is strongly desired)
Expertise in development of new bioprocesses, and process transfer to production, including scale-up and scale-down of bioreactors and bioprocess controller systems.
Ability to relate with people at all levels within an organization, including diverse cultures.
Comfortable working and mentoring in a team-based environment.
Must be willing and able to work evenings and weekends when needed.
Experience in data analysis platforms (e.g. JMP, Minitab), including statistical analysis and presenting data in table and graph forms.

Who you’ll work with

The BPD team, and especially the MSAT subteam, interfaces with all aspects of R&D, BPD, and Manufacturing, and this person will accordingly work with stakeholders across the organization to design studies and manage handoffs of materials and data.
To support tech transfer and manufacturing operations, this person will manage teams responsible for preparing process documentation, transfering processes into manufacturing, and providing on-floor support.

Key Contributions in First Year

Work within the MSAT subteam of BPD to enable tech transfer and support of large scale bioprocess operations
Lead efficient technology transfer workflows
Lead dedicated manufacturing support
Enable testing of most current processes at bench and pilot scales prior to technology transfer to commercial scales
Implement a dedicated pilot-scale suspension production function to support Food R&D prototyping efforts

Compensation Range: $200,000 - $220,000*
*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
Employee Engagement Council
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.

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