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 creative, driven, and amazing scientists 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
- A Bachelor degree with Honours plus 3+ years of work experience in a relevant field (cell or molecular biology, developmental biology, cancer biology, regenerative medicine, cellular metabolism, physiology, surface or polymer chemistry, materials science etc.)
- Hands-on /Working knowledge of mammalian cell culture (general aseptic technique, thawing, feeding, passaging, banking cells)
- A good understanding of cell biology, intracellular signaling, and metabolic pathways involved in proliferation, differentiation and/or maturation of mammalian cells.
- Experience in developing and running cell-based assays, microscopy and/or tissue engineering is required

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.

You will
- Manage both suspension and adherent cell culture.
- Carry out isolation, purification, culture and freezing of cells from a range of species.
- Independently plan, review and execute experiments
- Collect, analyse, interpret and present experimental data.
- Collaborate with our multidisciplinary team of engineers, food inventors and product designers to solve challenging scientific problems in new ways and to create 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 one of Vow’s program teams. 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 discussions on what work should be prioritised versus 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 made significant contributions to help your program succeed and bring products to market.. 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 and strive to learn and support our company and fellow Vowzers' growth as much as possible.
- ** We’re fully funded and ready to go.** We are a growing Aussie biotech start-up backed by Square Peg Capital, Blackbird Ventures, Grok Ventures and Tenacious Ventures. *Read more about why our investors are so excited about the future of Vow here.*‍

Vow perks and benefits:

- ** Everyone is an owner.** In