Senior Research Associate, Bioprocess Development

About us:

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 Senior Research Associate, Bioprocess Development will be responsible for running cell and tissue culture processes as a member of the Tissue Process Development sub-team to support the development and scale-up of novel platforms for meat cultivation. Working as a close team, you will be actively innovating in adherent cell culture and bringing cultivated meat to scale. You should be capable of designing, troubleshooting, and executing bioreactor-based experiments independently while employing critical thinking and scientific methodology. This position is laboratory-based and requires wet-bench work on a daily basis on several concurrent projects and at varying scales (< 1L to > 1000L), followed by analysis and interpretation of the data, presentation of findings to colleagues, and suggestion of follow-up experiments. This interdisciplinary role will work with many adjacent teams and require strong communication skills, diligence, and self-management.

Responsibilities include:

• Design, plan, and execute experiments to develop and optimize adherent cell cultivation platforms and processes.

• Perform lab to manufacturing scale bioreactor operations and cell culture experiments.

• Acquire, document, analyze, and interpret data independently.

• Conduct scale-up studies and process characterization to ensure robust and efficient manufacturing processes.

• Support tech transfers from R&D into pilot and commercial manufacturing.

• Troubleshoot technical issues related to manufacturing processes and provide innovative solutions to enhance process robustness and efficiency.

• Collaborate with adjacent functional groups, including Mechanical Engineering, Process Engineering, Manufacturing, and Food R&D.

About you:

• BS in cell biology, molecular biology, bioengineering, chemical engineering or related life sciences field.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related field.

• Minimum of 4 years of experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry, with a focus on process development and/or MSAT.

• Skilled with bioreactor (1-1000L) setup, operation, and troubleshooting.

• Excellent knowledge of basic safety, good laboratory practices, and aseptic technique.

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot technical issues and propose effective solutions.

• Experience with process characterization, scale-up, and validation activities.

• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and experience with tech transfer is desirable.

• Proficiency in statistical analysis and DOE (Design of Experiments) methodologies is desirable.

• Must be comfortable working independently and on a team, in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

• Able to shift work hours to evenings and weekends as needed to provide coverage for ongoing experiments.

Physical Demands:

• Lifts, pushes, and pulls up to 25#. Able to stand for 2-3 hours during operations in the lab or manufacturing floor.

• Must be able to identify physical objects between .5-20 feet away.

Compensation Range: $54,000 - $90,000*

• 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

• DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Council and People Engagement Programs

• 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.