Scientist II, HTP Screening

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

We are seeking an innovative, productive, and highly-independent Scientist to join our cell line development group. This individual will be responsible for developing and implementing high-throughput robotic platforms and novel directed evolution paradigms to deliver best-in-class cell lines. In addition, this role will involve developing, optimizing and executing high-throughput assays to screen for cell lines that meet the requirements of our cultivating meat process. This individual will be expected to design, troubleshoot, and execute experiments independently while employing critical thinking and organizational skills. Our ideal teammate will bring a sense of creativity, enthusiasm, and integrity to both this position and our organization. 

Responsibilities include…

• Generating and maintaining suspension cell lines 
• Accurately collecting and inputting data into LIMS data system 
• Developing robust, scalable, high-throughput cell culture 
• Collaborating closely with our Automation team to design and optimize HT workflows 
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of conveying technical information clearly and thoroughly 
• Identifying and implementing innovative approaches to scale our throughput without compromising quality 
• Supporting the development of junior team members 

About you…

• Ph.D. in biology, bioengineering or related field with 2+ years industry experience or MS with 4+ years of industry experience. 
• Strong background in high-throughput assay development, directed evolution techniques, and high-throughput cell culture automation. 
• Nice to have experience in handling large data sets and bioinformatics tools and programming languages (R, Python, etc.).
• Familiar or open to working with liquid handling robots, small-scale production systems, RT-PCR, immunofluorescence, FACS/Flow Cytometry, and high content imaging. 
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and driven by accuracy rather than being correct.

Who you’ll work with…

• This role will interface closely with cell line generation, cellular adaptation, single-cell cloning, and characterization groups. 
• Will also work cross-functional with data teams, automation development, and cell culture media teams.

Key Contributions in First Year…

• Mastery of cell line generation process for meeting requirements of cultivated meat. 
• Implementation of robotic-assisted automated cell culture platform
• Delivery of best-in-class cell line with the highest product quality and manufacturing characteristics.

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.