Senior Food Scientist
About Us: We are a plant-based food start-up providing scrumptious plant-based chicken products in the foodservice and Consumer Packaged Goods channels. As a food production and manufacturing technology company, we are working to increase the volume and lower the price of plant-based meat products to replace animal-based meat on a large scale.
Rebellyous Foods is seeking a Senior Food Scientist who enjoys making a difference, being a part of a team, and takes pride in working in a fast-paced, constantly changing startup environment and thrives working in an intensive research and manufacturing work environment. We are seeking a mission-focused and dedicated team member to manage our food science & production scale up needs to meet internal and external product goals. This position reports directly to the Director of ER&D.
Food Safety / Food Science Responsibilities:
- Develop and maintain the company's on-going food science strategy for continuous, rapid product development, food safety/compliance, scale up and manufacturing product support for Rebellyous and co-producers.
- Regularly collaborate with the co-producers on food safety plans and greater food safety strategy to address emerging threats to new products or production conditions.
- Communicate relevant information regarding trends, data, needs, non-compliances, internal and external audits, surveys, etc. to ensure effective implementation and maintenance of the food safety program.
- Investigate, document and resolve customer complaints.
- Maintain, document, and report on quality assurance standards for Rebellyous and co-producer products.
- Provide leadership and direction for the team in the unlikely event of a recall.
- Lead creation of sanitation standards and best practices for novel equipment.
- Lead nutritional testing, labeling, and reporting efforts for our products.
- Actively find ways to maintain, update and ensure consistent execution of current programs and internal SOPs and compliance with SQF, FDA, and WSDA requirements.
- Update batch records and recipes as needed. Maintain oversight and control of the version history of recipes & SOPs.
- Maintain transparent reporting on KPIs related to food safety and quality, sanitation, and internal and external audits.
Research and Development Responsibility:
- Conduct design, and plan research, pilot and plant-scale up trials for early and late stage production related to the design and development of our novel equipment for Rebellyous and co-producer recipes.
- Work closely with the Engineers to ensure food safety requirements and quality standards are incorporated into the equipment design and development process and that standards from the development process are built into manufacturing controls.
- Work with the Engineers to research modification of processes and novel equipment to produce high quality recipes.
- Lead food safety aspect of design and development of new processing line equipment and new production facilities.
- Verification and validation of equipment processes and sanitary operation for existing and new production lines.
- Assure that microbial surveillance programs are implemented, routinely assessed, improved upon based on the most current science and well-maintained. These programs include but are not limited to routine environmental monitoring, pre-op microbiological and indicator testing, and pathogen testing of products, when necessary, as directed by company policy.
- Diagnose failures in cleaning & sanitation or breaks in sterility and help determine root cause through sound experimental design and reasoning based on results.
Product Development Responsibilities:
- Lead design, planning, validation and implementation of new products, line extensions and product improvements, with understanding in areas beyond Product Development including Consumer Trends, Design Thinking, Process and Package Development, QA, Project Engineering and Marketing needs and financial hurdles.
- Design and oversee food science research and product development experiments, including ingredient interactions, protein chemistry, process optimization, ingredient innovation, scale up, sensory analysis, flavor development, and nutritional analyses.
- Conduct benchtop and early stage production by making/cooking/preparing samples, addressing quality control issues and tracking and resolving food production issues.
- Develop, maintain, and manage a system/database to retain documents, manage data ingredients, product specifications, and labeling requirements for all SKUs, and integrate previous and current results to determine the next experimental steps and the impact.
- Provide regulatory and compliance guidance and answer compliance-related questions regarding food products, by emerging/new regulations, advising of upcoming regulations, and evaluating the overall impact on the business.
- Analysis of final products to ensure compliance with labeling standards, food consistency, and adherence to cost standards.
- Maintain product and R&D science and engineering needs assessments.
- Design experiments (DOE) to determine optimal production processes, equipment and formulations.
- Support multiple experimental food production projects as necessary.
- Actively evaluate projects and work functions for efficiencies, such as wasted time, effort, resources, products.
Qualifications. Candidates should have some or all of the following credentials:
- 7-10 years (or more) working in the food industry, preferably leading food research, product development and/or food safety, quality in a food production setting. Master’s Degree in Food Science and Technology or other related disciplines OR 10 + years of experience in the Food Industry with a 4 year Bachelor degree in Food Science and Technology.
- Demonstrated ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams, including cross functional peers, senior management, and plant management.
- Ability to handle and lead multiple projects using excellent project management skills at any given time in a team environment with a strong attention to detail.
- Experience managing short and long-term food related projects and coordinating with internal employees and external suppliers, vendors, and consultants.
- Proactive mindset, self-motivated, with an ability to handle project ambiguity and work with minimal direction and guidance.
- Must be a good problem solver who is able to identify, interpret and analyze the correct data, and provide detailed direction to development projects.
- A deep understanding of protein chemistry, fat and oil chemistry, hydrocolloids, component functionality, and ingredient interactions.
- Knowledge of food processing technology, food cost and scaling, food sensory properties analyses, ingredient functionality, formulation techniques, ingredient regulatory framework, and food storage and packaging.
- Experience with food engineering, production, and with general food regulatory requirements.
- Willing to apply creative solutions to solve workflow bottlenecks; seeking a focused problem solver.
- Certified in FSPCA PCHF, SQF, GMP and other food safety or quality certifications highly desirable.
- Familiarity with WSDA and FDA standards.
Position Type/Expected Hours of Work: Full Time. On-Site at our HQ which is located in West Seattle, WA. Travel up to 50% of the time to support food production projects may be necessary. This position regularly requires long hours and may require weekend or after-hours work. Rebellyous Foods is a fully vaccinated workplace against COVID-19.
This position requires standing for long periods, manipulating objects with hands, seeing, smelling, tasting, and touching. The position requires lifting objects weighing up to 50lbs. The noise level in the environment is moderate to loud due to the nature of the equipment used for production.
Salary and Benefits: The salary range for this position is $80,000-$100,000/annum depending on experience. Full Time employee benefits include: 11 paid holidays, 14 days paid vacation, and sick leave according to WA state law. We also offer medical, dental, and vision insurance and cover 75% of the premium for employees. We provide opportunities for professional development and frequently promote from within.
Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy: At Rebellyous Foods, we aim to attract the most qualified and creative problem-solvers to the mission of providing sustainable, affordable meat alternatives. In achieving that goal, Rebellyous Foods does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of our operations. Women, minorities, people of color, and those with non-traditional educational and experiential backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Further, we are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. Discrimination or harassment in any form or based on any of the above factors is prohibited, as is retaliation against a person who has made a complaint or given information regarding possible violations of our policy.