Research Associate II, Cell Culture

About us

At the forefront of farming and food, UPSIDE Foods is innovating new ways to produce real meat, without the need to breed, feed and slaughter animals. Our process begins with an animal cell, which is cultivated and harvested as meat. The founding company of the industry, UPSIDE Foods is a mission-driven organization focused on bringing to meat lovers an authentic product that is truly humane, sustainably produced, nutritious and delicious! We are now expanding our team of dedicated professionals across disciplines to make better meat for a better world.

About this job

UPSIDE has grown fast over the last two years, and the momentum continues! The Research Associate II, Cell Culture will be responsible for running cell culture experiments under the direction of the Discovery - Madison team to support fish and crustacean cell culture development. You should be capable of designing, troubleshooting, and executing experiments independently while employing critical thinking and organizational skills. This laboratory-based position also requires cell cultivation lab operations, mid-scale cellular bioprocessing, and tissue production. Routine tissue culture, followed by analysis and interpretation of the data, presentation of findings to the R&D Team, and suggestion of follow-up experiments. You should be capable of designing, troubleshooting, and executing experiments independently while employing critical thinking and organizational skills.

Responsibilities include… 

• Cell isolation and maintenance of primary cell cultures isolated from animal sources.
• Develop seafood cell culture techniques including thawing, subculturing, cell banking, and assay development.
• Molecular biology techniques: Cell transfections, gene expression analysis,  protein/DNA quantification, and phenotype characterization.
• Analyze, synthesize, and present data to the research team and make recommendations for future research.
• Meticulous record keeping of detailed experiments and results in electronic lab notebook (ELN).

About you…

• M.S. in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, or closely related science, or B.S./B.A. with 2+ years of industry or academic experience in a related field.
• Proficient in culturing multiple cell types and can demonstrate aseptic cell culture techniques.
• Experienced in gDNA/RNA extraction, designing primers, PCR, qPCR, or ddPCR assays.
• Experience in cell-based assays, including immunofluorescence, microscopy imaging, or flow cytometry analysis a plus.
• Ability to independently troubleshoot molecular biology and cell culture protocols.
• Detail-oriented, with excellent data collection and recording for experimental design and results.

Who you’ll work with…

• This position will be located in Madison, WI in the Upside Foods-Midwest office.
• This role will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of scientists. It’s a rare opportunity to learn about all parts of the business and industry.
• While we expect growth in all functions in the next 1-2 years, this role will most frequently interact with our R&D and Tech Ops teams.

Key Contributions in First Year…

• Become proficient with Upside Foods’ seafood cell line generation process by generating multiple cell lines that are critical for our meat production.
• Characterize genotype and phenotype of cell lines to generate data packages to facilitate cell line hand-off to downstream departments.
• Perform small scale prototypes on new products and species.
• Present data demonstrating steps toward achieving 1 goal to a cross-functional team in the first three months.

UPSIDE Benefits!

• Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
• 90-100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical [including HSA and FSA], dental, and vision)
• Pet insurance for your furry family members!
• Unlimited PTO
• DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Council and People Engagement Programs
• Company-sponsored learning & development opportunities

UPSIDE Foods is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Our company-wide mission is to create a product for everyone, so we are deeply committed to having teams and leaders that reflect this mission.