About the company:
Nature’s Fynd is a Chicago-based food company creating versatile alternative proteins to nourish the world’s growing population while nurturing the planet. Born out of research conducted for NASA on microbes in Yellowstone National Park, the company’s breakthrough technology produces Fy™. Fy is a new-to-the-world, nutritional fungi protein that only uses a fraction of the resources required by traditional agriculture. We use Fy to make delicious, nutritious, and sustainable meat and dairy alternatives.
Nature’s Fynd is a groundbreaking food tech company born out of NASA-supported research on extremophiles in the geothermal pools of Yellowstone National Park. Our novel fermentation technology produces a sustainable source of complete protein using only a fraction of the resources required by traditional agriculture. As the challenge to feed the world’s expanding population grows, our mission is to create amazing foods and materials that provide sustainable choices and nurture the planet.
We’re looking for passionate, driven, and ambitious people to join our fast-growing team.
The Continuous Improvement lead is responsible for implementing all process improvement initiatives validated by R&D into our Chicago facility. The Continuous Improvement lead will also have the opportunity to be part of early-stage biotechnology that will positively impact people around the globe.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Operate as the liaison between the R&D, Operations, Quality, and Engineering groups to plan, implement and scale up capacity and quality improvement initiatives in our manufacturing facility, with the goal of increasing the plant capacity and product quality. Evaluate existing processes, suggest measures for improvement and configure manufacturing systems to reduce cost, improve quality, and develop best practices within the production process.Document processes, instructions, recommendations, and key metrics. Regularly and efficiently communicate the progress of all implementation efforts to the relevant parties within the organization. Map and analyze processes and identify ways to reduce waste, improve work flow, and otherwise increase efficiency.Provide positive role model for all plant personnel in the area of safety and quality. Work closely with quality, regulatory and product development functions to meet corporate goals, including timelines, for project implementation.Education and Work Experience
BS in Chemical, Mechanical, Industrial Engineering or equivalent technical degree. Background in chemistry, biology, food science, or other experience in analytical characterization of bioproducts. Project Management, maintenance, R&D, and/or continuous improvement experience in a manufacturing environment.Experience within a food manufacturing environment is preferred. Organized and detail oriented with strong analytical skillsStrong communication and presentation skills Ability to synthesize information from diverse sources and drive actionable working plans Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, particularly Excel, PowerPoint and Word Proficiency leveraging cloud-based collaborative tools (Google Suite) to driveconsensus-building activitiesSpecial Position Requirements
Comfortable working in a startup environment, embrace entrepreneurship and have enthusiasm for innovation. Emphasize personal transparency and accountability. Self-motivated with the ability to work independently & with a team.Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, across organizational functions.Exhibit strong sense of professional and personal integrity. Inherent curiosity and creativity in solving problems to understand how things work. Ability to handle and maintain the confidentiality of highly sensitive information. Versatility, flexibility and willingness to work enthusiastically within changing priorities. Company Benefits
100% paid employee benefits. Ability to join a company with aggressive growth trajectory.