Research Associate

About us

Vow is a food company - a very different one. We’re creating real meat products from animal cells instead of the animal itself.

We’re bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, culinary and design to make sustainable food that’s both irresistible and available to billions of people worldwide.

The role:
We are looking for a creative, driven, and amazing research associate with experience in molecular genetics and cell biology to join our expanding team at Vow. You’ll have the opportunity to solve some of the biggest problems currently facing the cultured meat industry.

You will collaborate with high performing scientists, chefs, software engineers and designers to define the links between cell and molecular biology, growth media, materials science and the food produced at the end. You’ll be autonomous and empowered to find better ways to do things.

Our problems are more than just discovery - you will be working in a fast-paced environment on the nexus of automation, data science and biology, growing real products to put in the hands of customers as soon as humanly possible, all without any harm to animals.

The experience you bring:

- First and foremost, we want you to be committed to excellence. This, and changing the way the world eats is something we take very seriously at Vow. This is a role for someone who believes they could contribute deeply to Vow’s scientific challenges.
- A Bachelor degree with honours in a relevant area (cell or molecular biology, molecular genetics, developmental biology, cancer biology, regenerative medicine, cellular metabolism, physiology) and 2+ years in a relevant role.
- A good understanding of the cell biology, cell signalling, and metabolic pathways involved in proliferation, differentiation and/or maturation of mammalian cells.
- Experience with modern gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR-Cas
- Experience with cell culture of a variety of cell lines and types including adherent and suspension, primary and secondary.

Ideally, you also bring:

- Experience with using or developing high throughput CRISPR screening methods.
- Experience in developing and running cell-based assays.
- Experience with FACS cell sorting.

You will:

- Work as part of a team to develop cell lines from a variety of species and cell types using genetic engineering and other techniques.
- Collaborate with our team of engineers to solve some of the most challenging scientific problems in new, better and faster ways.
- Contribute strategic scientific ideas for long term data acquisition and analysis.
- Collaborate with chefs, food inventors and product designers to create some of the most amazing food products the world has ever seen

What success looks like

During your first month you will have successfully integrated yourself into the cell line development work associated with one of Vow’s program teams and you will be working on a project focused on using gene editing in cells from novel species to enable improved cell growth. By the end of the first month you should be able to point to how your work is swinging the pendulum towards success for the program team.

Within three months you will have completed multiple projects and contributed to prioritisation discussions on what work should continue versus what should be terminated. You will have helped to develop key pipelines in collaboration with our team of engineers so that your work is easily reproducible and can be performed quickly and easily by others.

By the end of your first year at Vow you will have helped develop a number of cell lines and added significantly to our ever growing cell library. You will have also helped train and mentor a growing team of junior research associates.

Vow, more than just a job.

Who we are and why join:

- ** We are building a diverse, mission-driven dream team of “Vowzers.”** Our mission is to make food products for everyone. To do that well we need a workforce that’s representative of the people we serve. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view - so we’re building a culture to match. Be yourself and come as you are.
- ** Work on cutting-edge technology. **We’re bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, and food, to recreate the world’s most tantalising and unique culinary experiences. All without compromising on ethics or our planet along the way. Since our inception in 2019, we have held the title of being the first startup to cultivate meat from the cells of an undomesticated animal, and have served up our exotic meats ranging from kangaroo dumplings to alpaca sliders in tastings with world-renowned chefs.
- ** Work with and learn from the best. **Our team includes some of the world’s leading scientists, innovators, operators, and creatives with decades of industry experience. Despite our experiences though, we all strive to build, break, learn, and repeat. We see the impossible as temporary