Scientist II, Stem Cell Biology

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 Stem Cell Biologist to join our Cell Line Development (CLD) group within Upstream Development at the Scientist II level. This is a unique opportunity to build a novel stem cell application that meets the requirements of our cultured meat process. This is a laboratory-based position with opportunities for collaboration across various R&D groups. Due to our organization's dynamic and collaborative environment, this role will require someone who can work individually and as part of a team. Lastly, and most importantly, our ideal teammate will bring a sense of creativity, enthusiasm, and integrity to this position and our organization.

Responsibilities include… 

• Derive ESC/iPSC lines from novel species, and optimize culture conditions to maintain pluripotency.
• Develop robust, scalable, directed-differentiation processes.
• Generate stable cell lines and characterize their cell phenotypes.
• Contribute creatively and strategically to scientific discussion.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of conveying technical information clearly and thoroughly to cross-functional teammates and the senior leadership team.
• Managing timelines and expectations and supporting team growth when needed.

About you…

• Ph.D. in developmental/stem cell biology, biomedical sciences, biological sciences, or related fields with 5+ years of professional research and development experience (including post-doctoral) with at least 2 years experience in the biopharmaceutical, cell therapy or similar industry.
• Expert in ESC derivation and iPSC generation and maintaining these cell lines.
• Well-versed in signaling pathway modulation for fate decisions as well as differentiation techniques.
• Thoughtful and effective experimentalist, driven by the accuracy of data.
• Willingness to actively engage external scientists and internal customers in research collaborations where appropriate and to maintain scientific scholarship through internal and external networking and frequent literature reviews.
• Proactive mindset who is excited about challenges and finds creative solutions or clear answers to those challenges.

Who you’ll work with…

• While we expect growth in the Stem Cell Biology team in the next 1-2 years, this role will start as an individual contributor with minimal management responsibilities.
• This role will partner with multiple functions within our Cell Line Development team and downstream teams within the Upstream Development team.
• This role will partner with multiple functions in R&D, including Cell Culture Media Development, Data, Discovery, and with our Regulatory team.

Key Contributions in First Year…

• Derived ESC/iPSC lines and generated stable cell lines that can be used to screen for culture and media conditions.
• Identified culture conditions that allow scale-up as well as maintaining pluripotency.
• Adapted cells into our in-house scalable medium.

UPSIDE Benefits!

• Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
• 100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical, dental, vision)
• 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.