Scientist: Downstream Processing

Company: New Culture
Location: San Leandro
Posted on: August 2, 2022

Job Description:

At New Culture, we are making cow cheese without the cow. Dairy cheese is unsustainable and plant-based cheeses don't work. Ours are sustainable, healthy, ethical, and indistinguishable from current dairy options in taste, texture, and function. Using fermentation to produce dairy proteins, food science to combine those proteins with natural ingredients, and traditional cheesemaking methods to make any cheese of choice, we are bringing about a new culture for the cheese industry.
We are a Bay Area-based, venture-backed startup in an exciting growth and rapid expansion phase. We are looking for a Senior/Scientist Downstream Process Development to join us in leading the global transformation to an animal-free dairy future. As an early member of the team, you will have significant influence and responsibility in determining the success and trajectory of New Culture. The ideal candidate is looking for a new challenge in a fast-moving, collaborative environment and has hands-on laboratory and scale-up experience working as a part of a diverse team to develop and optimize downstream processes, ideally for the recovery and purification of protein targets.
What you will do:

• Design, lead and assist in bench/pilot-scale studies to support downstream process development, optimization, characterization, and scale-up.
• Develop and implement experimental plans in downscaled processes to test and evaluate feasibility of ideas
• Oversee downstream process operations to establish the robustness of our processes while being hands-on at the bench
• Assist with technology transfer from process development to scale-up and manufacturing, traveling up to one week per month on average
• Provide support to other scientists on the team when and where needed
• Work cross functionally with the Analytical team to interpret data with high rigor and present findings at department and company meetings
  What we expect from you:
  • Degree in Biological or Chemical Sciences or Engineering field.
  • 2+ years (PhD) / 5+ years (Masters) / 8+ years (Bachelors) of relevant industrial experience in downstream process development and/or purification of large molecules from complex matrices (e.g. fermentation)
  • Hands-on experience with protein biochemistry assays and methods (SDS-PAGE, Western Blot, ELISA, HPLC) and protein purification (separations, filtration, precipitation, chromatography).
  • Experience with tech transfer, CRO/CMO interfacing/support, and scale-up support of established downstream processes
  • Recent experience (if not currently) being hands-on at the bench
  • Ability to work closely in an interdisciplinary and multicultural team
  • Strong organizational and cross-functional communication skills
  • A desire to develop cutting-edge fermentation technology to create delicious, impactful food products
  • Authorization to work in the US
    Even better if you had:
    
    • Experience working with pilot-scale DSP equipment
    • Experience in small-scale operations / manufacturing
    • Experience scaling up bio- and downstream processes
    • Hands-on experience with analytical chemistry
    • Experience working with dairy/food ingredients or in food-tech
    • Experience with microbial fermentation
      How to know you are a great fit:We look for candidates who are team players, learners, doers, and hungry to make a difference in the world. Creativity and resourcefulness, honesty, and empathy go a long way. Our five core values guide us on our path to achieving our mission.
      Determination with Kindness - Have the resolve, the drive, and the will to succeed, but do it with empathy, encouragement, and compassion. In the face of adversity we will only excel as a team by keeping kindness at the forefront of everything we do.
      Tenacity with Transparency - Creativity, persistence, questioning, and crazy ideas to solve hard problems are essential to our work. We do all of this out in the open while being honest and forthright about the new things we're trying, getting feedback and input from our teammates along the way.
      Teamwork with Rigor - Hold yourself and those around you to high standards and understand how your responsibilities are interconnected with others. As much as you rely on your teammates, they're relying on you, and only with consistent communication and rigorous teamwork will we achieve our goals together.
      Speed with Focus - We move quickly, exploring new opportunities and incorporating new results to make progress rapidly. Remaining focused throughout our experimentations means making thoughtful decisions, listening to a range of perspectives, and moving forward as a unified team once we've committed to the path ahead.
      Love the Product (not just the Science) - The science is cool but the product is even cooler. Our breakthroughs are always in the pursuit of better products. It's by selling delicious dairy that we will bring about a successful future for New Culture and a positive impact for our customers and the planet.
      
      
      
      New Culture is committed to promoting and creating a diverse, inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Diversity is the foundation of what we do at New Culture, enabling us to build a company that celebrates what makes each of us unique.

Keywords: New Culture, San Leandro , Scientist: Downstream Processing, Other , San Leandro, California