What you will own at Wildtype:

• Produce our current scaffolds with novel cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation cues
• Tissue engineer muscle, fat, and connective tissue, including cell seeding, scaffold stimulation, and harvest to packaging
• Analyze experimental samples by light microscopy, fluorescence-based immunoassays, colorimetric assays, histology, and mechanical assays
• Carry out experiments with the guidance of our scientific leadership maintain accurate notes, present data, be engaged in scaffold rational redesign and experimental planning
• Acquire new skills and integrate new technologies

What we’ll teach you:

• How to apply your tissue engineering skills in the context of next-generation sustainable food production
• Scale up basic tissue engineering techniques to unprecedented volumes
• How to continue growing as a scientist with outside-the-box thinking, creative experimental design, execution, and analysis
• New techniques such as hybrid scaffold fabrication, functional assays, advanced microscopy, molecular biology, and screening methodologies

What you bring to Wildtype:

• 2+ years of mammalian cell culture experience or 1+ years of stem cell culture experience
• Exceptional aseptic technique with a great understanding of the fundamentals of cell culture in 3D scaffolds
• Experience preparing analytical reagents and dilutions
• Experience with molecular biology is a plus
• Experience with mechanical engineering, CAD, 3D printing, nanofiber creation is also a plus
• Comfortable taking notes, writing reports, and performing laboratory-related arithmetic
• Capable of overcoming obstacles/difficulties with a positive attitude; enjoys challenges; proven ability to see goals through to the end
• A hunger for learning, growth, and being part of a fast-moving, dynamic team
• Strong attention to detail and excellent organization skills
• Able to learn quickly and excel in a fast-paced work environment
• Self-starter, willing to take initiative to accomplish key tasks

Impact Plan:

• Within 1 month you’ll have carried out your first experiment on your own, with the support of your scientific mentor. We’ll rely on you to prepare scaffolds and other experimental reagents without supervision. You will have performed a few advanced analyses (including taste tests) on the samples you have produced. You will have defined your professional development goals for the next twelve months.
• Within 3 months you will have mastered basic tissue engineering lab techniques within Wildtype’s unique context. You will be independently carrying out routine activities such as cell culture, cell seeding, differentiation, and sample analyses without supervision. You will have contributed to the design of several experiments.
• Within 6 months your tissue engineering skills will have developed to the point where you can independently train a new hire on Wildtype’s entire product production process. Your work will be organized effectively to achieve tasks on time at a high level of quality. You will have executed your first independently designed experiment with controls, and presented your findings at a company-wide research meeting.
• Within 12 months you’ll be managing and carrying out multiple experiments simultaneously. You will be able to articulate how your work directly impacts the company’s milestones. You will routinely take the initiative to research topics independently and volunteer new ideas or approaches.

Your work at Wildtype

• Flexible schedule, up to 10 hours per month

• Lead grocery shopping and preparation (including making seasoned sushi rice) for sushi, poke, smoked salmon, and cured salmon dishes (such as ceviche) for tastings with chefs, restaurateurs, investors and partners

• Lead grocery shopping and preparation, as well as assist with food styling, for marketing-oriented photo shoots and events

• Opportunities for occasional travel (not required)

What you bring to the table

• 2+ years making sushi in an upscale sushi restaurant

• Ability to wow diners with preparation and plating techniques

• Ability to source and prepare ingredients in advance of tastings

• Ability to speak to the story behind our product and the dishes you’ve prepared

• Highly skilled, highly dependable, highly reliable

What you will own at Wildtype

• Work with our process development team to scale-up bench-scale processes for novel cell strains & improve cell manufacturing processes

• Troubleshoot and optimize key process parameters (e.g., feeding strategies, culture mixing dynamics, sparging) to improve production efficiency

• Tech-transfer of large scale upstream processes to production team

• Monitor processes and prepare samples for downstream analyses

• Maintain accurate experimental records

• Design and implement processes for culturing novel cell lines

• Assist in company efforts to scale up cell culture

What you bring to the table

• MS or PhD in Bioprocess Engineering, Cell/Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical, or Biochemical Engineering with 3+ years of process development experience; prior experience in biotechnology/bio-pharmaceutical industry is a plus

• Experience with resolving engineering issues, particularly involving process scale up

• Ability to establish scaled down models based upon large scale run data

• Experience with the design of mammalian or insect cell culture processes, and the operation of large scale bioreactors

• Ability to work independently with respect to experiment planning, design, execution, optimization, data analysis, interpretation, and communication

• Excellent organizational, communication skills and a track record of effective collaboration in complex projects

• Mission-driven, creative, and entrepreneurial

What we’ll teach you

• How to apply your experience in large-scale cell culture to the production of next-generation seafood

Impact plan

• Within 1 month you will have adapted your experience in process development to Wildtype’s unique context. You will have set your professional development goals for the next twelve months.

• Within 3 months you will have assumed responsibility within Wildtype’s process development / scaling team including process validation, operation, and maintenance of the company’s fleet of bioreactors. You will have identified key performance indicators from bench scale runs that will facilitate an increase in scale. You will also coordinate technology transfers to Wildtype’s production team.

• Within 6 months your efforts on R&D over the past six months will have also yielded significant improvements to Wildtype’s scale-up processes. Your leadership responsibilities will expand as our process development / scaling team grows. You will have trained new hires and transferred processes to the production team.

• Within 12 months you will have successfully orchestrated the scale-up of multiple marine cell lines. You will have developed workflows for the improvement of key culture parameters in novel cell lines developed by our Cell Line Development team. At this stage, you will also be interfacing with the Media and Production teams to optimize the process for large scale cell propagation and production. You will also play an integral role in defining the requirements for future production plants.

What you will own at Wildtype

• Build and lead a team of food scientists to improve the physicochemical, sensory, and functional properties of cultivated seafood products

• Lead the company’s research program for the biological basis of flavor

• Design and oversee food science research and development, including ingredient interactions, protein chemistry, food engineering, process optimization, scale up, sensory analysis, flavor development, and nutritional analyses

• Oversee procurement, analytics and formulation development

• Develop novel seafood products with various scaffold manufacturing technologies and cell integration approaches

• Evaluate novel ingredients, preparations, and production methods

• Cross-functionally operate and have a good grasp of concepts at the intersection of food science, biology, engineering, and commercialization

How you’ll work with other teams

• Collaborate with product, scaling, and tissue engineering teams to develop new cultivated seafood products

• Work with our tissue engineering team to push the boundaries of traditional cell propagation and differentiation methodologies to larger 3D environments

What you bring to Wildtype

• An MS or PhD in Food Science

• 5+ years experience in Food Science, particularly in product development, testing, and scaling

• A deep understanding of protein chemistry (fats and oil chemistry a plus), hydrocolloids, food engineering, and component functionality & interactions in a food product as a whole

• At least 3 years of team leadership experience

• Contribute to an environment of scientific curiosity

• Mission-driven, resourceful, creative, positive disposition, and entrepreneurial

• Ability to move projects forward in the face of continuously evolving priorities and timelines

• Preferred, but not required: knowledge of food processing technology, food cost and scaling, food sensory properties analyses, ingredient regulatory framework, and food storage and packaging

• Preferred, but not required: standard protein and small molecule separation and characterization techniques (e.g., SDS-PAGE, capillary electrophoresis, enzymology, NMR, FITR, CD, UV/Vis/Fluorescence spectroscopy, HPLC, LC/GC-MS)

What we’ll teach you

• How to apply your experience in food science to the production of next-generation seafood

• How to work with and lead in a fast-moving, interdisciplinary team working at the leading edge of several fields

Impact Plan

• Within 1 month you will have adapted your experience in food science to Wildtype’s unique context. You will have set your professional development goals for the next twelve months.

• Within 3 months you will have assumed responsibility for Wildtype’s Food Science organization.

• Within 6 months your efforts on R&D over the past six months will have yielded significant improvements to Wildtype’s salmon product. Your leadership responsibilities will expand as our Food Science team grows. You will have trained several new hires and built a high-performing team.

• Within 12 months you will be overseeing the research and development operations in the world’s first pilot-scale facility for cultivated seafood.

What you will own at Wildtype

• Own Wildtype’s quality assurance & food safety programs

• Serve as Wildtype’s PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual)

• Build and strengthen our food safety and quality inspection procedures

• Ensure that our novel cell-cultivated seafood products meet compliance standards

• Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for quality controls and approvals

• Collaborate with our operations team to audit suppliers, ingredients, raw materials, and supplies used within our production process

• Utilize preventive controls and measures to ensure high standards for food safety, plant hygiene, and proper storage

• Continuously inspect and evaluate the quality parameters of our production process

• Conduct hazard analysis with chemical hazards, physical hazards, allergens, and microbiological hazards to prevent contamination and develop strong protocols

• Create and revise SOPs, and establish KPIs to measure the effectiveness of quality control & food safety

• Use data to identify trends and troubleshoot problems

What you bring to Wildtype

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field (ie. Biology, Chemistry, or Food Science)

• PCQI and/or HACCP/FSMA certification, GFSI & FSMS experience a plus

• 2+ years of PCQI experience in a manufacturing environment, biotechnology, or life science industry

• A thorough understanding of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), and a commitment to strong safety procedures

• Experience working with regulatory requirements and compliance, such as the FDA, USDA, and other governing bodies

What we’ll teach you

• How to apply your experience in food safety to an entirely novel production system
  

• How to work with and lead in a fast-moving, interdisciplinary team working at the leading edge of several fields

Impact plan

• Within 1 month you will assume full responsibilities of our food safety & quality processes. You will have adapted your experience to Wildtype’s unique manufacturing context. You will have defined your professional development goals for the next 12 months.

• Within 3 months you will have made significant upgrades to our preventative maintenance and quality protocols. You’ll work cross-functionally with Operations and our R&D team to understand the requirements of our technology and process, and to develop SOPs and safety procedures.

• Within 6 months you’ll be ready to operate independently, driving projects forward with minimal supervision. From this point on, you’ll work closely with our Operations & Manufacturing teams to ensure a high standard for food safety and quality. You can expect to periodically report progress on your projects to our entire team and will be assuming an increasing level of responsibility.

• Within 12 months you’ll be leading the food safety & quality procedures for the world’s first pilot plant for cell-cultivated seafood and will be laying the groundwork for the next level of scaled production. You’ll lead our interactions with regulatory authorities not just in the United States, but overseas. Your work in bringing one of the first cultivated seafood products in the world to market will position you as a global thought leader on food safety for this new form of meat and seafood production.