Scientist: Process Development

About Wildtype

Wildtype is on a mission to create the cleanest, most sustainable seafood on the planet, starting with sushi-grade salmon. We’re pioneering cellular agriculture to protect wild species and our oceans, and to reverse trends of global food insecurity. Wildtype will provide consumers with a new option for real seafood that provides the same nutritional benefits as the most pristine wild-caught fish, without common contaminants such as mercury, microplastics, antibiotics, or pesticides.

We were founded in 2016 by Aryé Elfenbein, a cardiologist and molecular biologist, and Justin Kolbeck (CEO), a former US diplomat who served in Pakistan and Afghanistan, in an effort to solve one of the world’s biggest problems: how to feed a growing population without stripping the earth of its natural resources and biodiversity. Investors include L Catterton, Jeff Bezos, Spark Capital, CRV, Temasek, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert Downey Jr.’s Footprint Coalition, among others.

Come join us in transforming our food system for good!

What you’ll be accountable for at Wildtype

• Lead process development projects to improve Wildtype’s scaling operations, including supervising junior scientists and engineers
• Design, review, execute, and analyze process development experiments ranging from bench through pilot scale, leading to process transfer to commercial scale
• Partner with our leadership team to define scale-up plans and work through technical roadblocks
• Transfer bench scale processes through pilot scale, leading to process transfer to commercial scale
• Optimize production processes to improve product yields consistent with safety and quality standards
• Establish operating procedures consistent with good manufacturing practices in a food context

How you’ll support others

• Provide input to setting Wildtype’s goals and milestones for 2022 and 2023
• Support leaders across the organization through technical problem solving

What we’d like you to teach us

• MS or PhD in Bioprocess Engineering, Cell/Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical, or Biochemical Engineering (or equivalent experience)
• 2+ years of hands-on cell-culture bioprocess development and process transfer from bench- to commercial-scale; prior experience in biotechnology/bio-pharmaceutical industry is a plus
• 1+ years of experience managing one or more direct reports
• A deep understanding of process variables, such as, Kla, power values as they apply to scaling up/down an efficient process
• Equipment validation to qualify prototype instruments
• Experience developing processes for a wide variety of cell lines
• Creatively applying your previous experience to the development of an entirely novel set of bioprocesses
• Deep experience with a wide range of bioreactor platforms and control systems
• How to work in and lead a diverse, team-based environment

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 also assumed mentorship responsibilities for at least two more junior scientists and will play an active role in developing the next generation of scientists and engineers at the company. You will have set your professional development goals for the next twelve months.
• Within 3 months you will have assumed responsibility for Wildtype’s process development projects such as, the installation, validation, operation, and maintenance of the company’s fleet of bioreactors. You will have written and operationalized standard procedures consistent with good manufacturing practices for food. You will regularly design and test new equipment as Wildtype continues to scale its production capacity.
• Within 6 months your efforts on R&D over the past six months will have also yielded significant improvements to Wildtype’s production efficiencies. Your leadership responsibilities will expand as our scaling R&D and the production team grows. You will have trained several new hires and built a high-performing team of production associates and supervisors for our pilot production facility. You will have also contributed in defining hiring plans for the next stage of Wildtype’s growth into 2022 and 2023. You will be working closely with our leadership team to set production goals and manage output for Wildtype’s pilot plant.
• Within 12 months you will be overseeing production of cells in the world’s first pilot-scale facility for cell-cultivated seafood. You will be working closely with our facilities and inventory managers to ensure adequate stocks of reagents to meet production and R&D cell production demands.

The hiring range for this position is $125,000 - $140,000 per year, plus 90th percentile equity.

Location: this position is an onsite role based in San Francisco.

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Wildtype is committed to building a diverse workplace spanning multiple dimensions including race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity, and veteran status