Lead Scientist - Media Development
Opportunity to join a fast-growing startup and create massive impact by building the production system that will feed humanity with the next generation of sustainable seafood.
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At Umami Meats, we are pioneering cultivated, 'not caught' seafood by developing the production system for delicious, nutritious, and affordable cultivated fish, starting with IUCN Red Listed species that are difficult to farm and being driven extinct by human consumption. We are partnering with food producers to scale our cultivated seafood production system to provide people around the world with a stable, resilient, local supply of seafood free from mercury, antibiotics, microplastics, and ocean pollutants.
We’re on a mission to empower humanity to eat sustainably without sacrifice. We believe the only way to change how the majority of the world eats meat and seafood is to create real seafood - the most delicious, healthiest seafood available - without the environmental and animal welfare consequences of our current practices.
We’re a venture-backed biotech startup located in Singapore where some of the world’s smartest, most passionate people are pioneering a sustainable food future that is attractive and accessible to people around the world. We are united by our collective drive to ask tough questions, take on challenging problems, and apply cutting-edge science and engineering to create a better future for humanity. At Umami Meats, you will be encouraged to dream big and will have the freedom to create, invent, and do the best, most impactful work of your career.
Umami Meats is looking to hire an inquisitive, innovative, and independent Lead Scientist - Media Development to join our R&D team in Singapore.
As Lead Scientist of Media Development, you will be building and coordinating a team of scientists to develop and optimize our proprietary, animal-component-free media formulations to support proliferation and differentiation of our fish cell lines. Successful candidates will demonstrate deep expertise of cell culture media development, methods of optimization, and compositional analysis, in addition to experience managing successful teams.In this role, you will independently lead and deliver on individual projects and to manage direct reports' schedules and priorities.
You will work directly with other members of our rapidly growing team to do cutting-edge science and will have the autonomy to set strategic direction, test new ideas, and identify better ways to do things.
Responsibilities
- Develop and optimize animal-component-free media formulations to support all relevant cell culture processes, including seed trains, proliferation, and differentiation
- Develop specifications, procedures, and testing protocols for new media formulation development, validation, and quality control
- Establish and execute high-throughput workflows to analyze media performance, collect metabolic data from our cell culture systems, and evaluate media formulations
- Collaborate with suppliers to source components and materials for media development
- Coordinate with other functional teams to define target criteria for media improvement, including improved product yield and quality and enhanced bioprocess performance
- Build and manage a team of motivated, passionate scientists
- Align with senior leadership to implement critical decisions
- Conduct rigorous experimental design, documentation, and data analysis
- Provide concise and effective reporting on project deliverables and presentation of data
- Provide creative solutions to challenging technical problems and demonstrating critical thinking
About You
Experience
- M.S. or PhD in a relevant field (Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Cell Biology, or equivalent
- 8+ years postgraduate (MS) or 6+ years post-doctoral experience in industry are preferred
- Direct experience in development and optimization of novel mammalian cell culture medias and high-throughput screening systems, including assay development and execution
- Proficiency with Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology for, including experiment design and data analysis
- Experience with media development and optimization and familiarity with mammalian metabolic pathways
- Track record of successfully leading small teams is strongly preferred
- Strong track record of peer-reviewed publications is preferred
- Demonstrated scientific rigor toward continuous improvement
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and skills to prioritize and deliver against timelines
- Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including strong command of the English language
Desired Technical skills
- Statistical background to design, run, and evaluate DOE along with understanding pros/cons of different DOE approaches
- Experience designing screening experiments via DOE, executing in high-throughput formats, and carrying out rigorous analysis of results
- Proficiency in statistical analysis tools and data science for media analysis
- Experience with common analytical methods for media development, including HPLC and LC-MS
- Basic understanding of bioreactor operations and scale-up
- Department
- R&D
- Locations
- Singapore
Singapore
In Return, We’ll Support You With:
-
A competitive salary and benefits package
We offer competitive salary and benefits, including healthcare, paid time off, wellness benefits, and stock options -
A safe, supportive, and collaborative environment
We provide a collaborative work environment that encourages taking smart risks, setting ambitious goals, and taking initiative. We will challenge you to do your best work and provide a safe and supportive environment for you to do the best work of your career. -
An open and adaptive workplace
You will have the freedom to define best approaches to solving problems, both technical and organizational, without legacy overhead. We want the best ideas to win, not just those put forward by the most senior team members. -
Constant opportunity for growth
We believe that learning and self-improvement never stop. We will provide you with opportunities to learn new skills, mentorship from the leadership team, and the chance to explore interests beyond your core role. -
Impactful work tackling one of the world’s most pressing problems
We believe feeding 10 billion people sustainably while restoring our degraded biosphere is one of the most pressing, intractable challenges of our time. At Umami Meats, you will be actively working to make progress toward solving this problem every day.
Workplace & culture
You will work closely with our technical and business leadership to overcome a number of technical challenges to make a cultivated, sustainable food future possible.
You will work directly with other members of our small but growing team to do cutting-edge science and will have the autonomy to test new ideas and identify better ways to do things.
What We are Looking For:
- Above all, you’re mission-aligned: you want to apply your technical talents to building a more sustainable food system and a better future for humanity. Whether you’re driven by animal welfare, environmental protection, ocean sustainability, climate change, or something else, we all bring different perspectives to our shared mission.
- You’re proactive. You take initiative and think about the big picture.
- You’re inquisitive, curious, and have a growth mindset.
- You strive to be high-performing and want to work with others who will help you achieve peak performance.
- You’re kind, collaborative, and believe that you can learn something from everyone you encounter.
- You thrive in dynamic environments and enjoy “hacking” new and innovative solutions to pressing problems.
At Umami Meats, we are building a more sustainable food future for everyone. To achieve our goal, we strive to build a team that reflects the diversity of the people we aim to serve. We believe that a diversity of backgrounds - and the confluence of unique perspectives it creates - drives innovation and helps us avoid blind spots, and we are building a culture that reflects these beliefs.
About Umami Meats
Umami Meats is cultivating the future of sustainable seafood by crafting delicious, nutritious, affordable cultivated fish that is better for our health, our oceans, and our planet.
Lead Scientist - Media Development
Opportunity to join a fast-growing startup and create massive impact by building the production system that will feed humanity with the next generation of sustainable seafood.
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