Manufacturing Engineer/Scientist

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.

Your Role:

We are seeking a Manufacturing Engineer/Scientist with experience in bioreactor operations at Pilot or Full factory scale to join our rapidly growing food company’s New Product Introduction Team.

In this hands-on role, you will collaborate with a cross-functional team throughout the product launch lifecycle, from pilot scale to full production ramp-up. You will work closely with Research and Development, Engineering, Quality, and Production teams to transition future products from small-scale concepts to full-scale production.

You will engage directly with operators, scientists, and other technical team members to drive and coordinate the implementation of large-scale processes for cultured meat production. Your responsibilities will include designing, executing, and interpreting experiments to develop and optimise new processes, or refine existing ones for new products. Additionally, you will serve as a technical resource for the Manufacturing Production team, offering input on process changes and quality issues, and supporting continuous process improvement.

You will have the opportunity to develop processes using a variety of equipment, ranging from 500mL shaking flasks and 25L rocking motion reactors to stainless steel stirred tank reactors with capacities of 200-20,000L.

Working with us means contributing to the development of sustainable, abundant, and irresistible food. You will collaborate with a diverse and passionate team of mechanical, automation, software, and hardware engineers, process development scientists, procurement and supply chain specialists, designers, and culinary experts, all dedicated to creating a better future for our planet.

Your experience:

• A qualification in cellular biology, microbiology, brewing, biomedical/chemical/biochemical engineering, or equivalent experience
• Experience with brewing, fermentation, or bioreactor operation up to 2000 L, ideally in stainless steel bioreactors with an emphasis on mammalian cell culture
• Proven experience in implementing food manufacturing and packing line facilities/processes
• Knowledge of Food HACCP plans or Quality Management Systems (ISO9001, ISO13485, or similar)
• Experience developing SOPs in academia or industry
• High degree of technical competence and scientific awareness
• Flexibility to carry out shift work or weekend work if required
• Ability to work effectively within a close-knit team environment as well as a diverse cross-functional department

What you’ll do:

• Oversee the scale up of processes from laboratory scale to pilot and demo scales with particular focus at the larger scale (>200L)
• Support development of robust and scalable processes for different cell lines at pilot (>200L) scale.
• Troubleshoot biological (e.g. cell growth inhibition), chemical (e.g. pH regulation) and physical (e.g. oxygen mass transfer) process problems during process design and scale up
• Troubleshoot hardware problems (e.g. mechanical, automation) during scale up
• Perform statistical analysis on pilot/production performance and communicate performance trends
• Forecast industry trends, challenges, and opportunities, and translate these into impactful projects and strategy to drive continuous process improvement
• Optimise processes to improve costs, speed and quality
• Follow process data and quality after implementation into Production. Evaluate and troubleshoot problems that may arise in newly transferred processes.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of new technologies for next-generation biological manufacturing processes, including the application of process development to manipulate product characteristics e.g. texturisation, protein content, etc
• Mentor and coach junior scientists, engineers and technicians

Success is:

• First month: You will work within our New Product Introduction team to learn the ins and outs of our manufacturing process, and our pilot- and demo-scale facilities. You will develop a deep understanding of technology and manufacturing goals at a company level, and will be able to suggest approaches to achieve these goals.
• First three months: You will have worked closely with our technology and manufacturing teams, and you will have taken technical ownership of one or more New Product Introduction projects.
• First year: You will have significantly contributed to optimising and implementing scaled processes for a number of different cell line and media combinations. You will also have leveraged your deep knowledge of bioprocess to introduce new product characteristics via process changes/manipulation, resulting in new & delicious product prototypes. You will also have contributed to shaping what Vow’s production process looks like beyond pilot and demo scales. You will have helped train, mentor and grow a team of operators to rapidly drive process development and optimisation.

Who we are and why join:

• We are building a diverse, mission-led 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 top 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 Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Grok Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, P7 Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and PeakBridge VC.

Vow perks and benefits:

• Everyone is an owner. In addition to competitive base salaries, each and every ‘Vowzer’ owns equity in the company so we can all benefit from our hard work and future success.
• Generous paid parental leave. We offer 8 weeks of paid caregiver leave and an additional 8 weeks paid leave for the birth giver.
• Generous relocation budget & support. Support for interstate or overseas team members and their families (including pets)
• Flexible working hours and location. We value work-life balance. While we’re mostly back in the office, you’re free to choose the best way for you to work.
• Unlimited personal leave. At Vow we recognise that sometimes you need time off to recuperate, look after your mental health, or simply deal with an emergency. We put unlimited personal leave in place to empower you to truly bring your best self to work every single day and you are always paid for days taken off as personal leave.
• Heaps of tasty samples from our culinary centre. Our fantastic "food inventors" on the Vow team are always cooking up new product prototypes, and all Vowzers are given the opportunity to taste, give feedback, and learn from their culinary prowess.
• An awesome converted warehouse “campus” in Alexandria. Complete with a glass-walled lab, manufacturing line, free snacks, a culinary centre, and professional-grade coffee machine in our cafe, as well as a DIY workshop for all hands-on projects.
• Human and dog friendly office An inclusive community and culture, in a welcoming office, complete with friendly “Vowzer” dogs
• A variety of social clubs. We encourage all our Vowzers to build the culture with us and share what you love by creating social clubs across the business. From book clubs to hiking groups, we’re always looking for ways to learn and engage with our team.

You don’t have to have every listed requirement and skill to be a great fit - you may even teach us something about what we should be looking for If you are passionate about this opportunity and think you have the skills to succeed, please apply If not, but you know someone who might be interested, please share this post.