Job Purpose and Summary 

We are looking for an experienced food scientist to join our Product Innovation team at KitchenTown! This group works directly with the most promising food startups, entrepreneurs, scientists, and legacy companies to develop new food and beverage products. The most innovative food startups in the world—from alternative proteins to automated restaurants to functional products—come to KitchenTown to launch their companies. Your job is to create new products in collaboration with those brands. KitchenTown is an energetic food hub teeming with entrepreneurs defining the future of food. You want to make foods that are joyful to eat, nourish the body and mind, or regenerate the assets on which they depend. 

Candidates love variety, are creative, and are able to demonstrate strong technical knowledge while working in a fast paced environment. This person should have a passion for food innovation, a desire to improve the food system, and enjoy working as part of a small, nimble team in a lab setting. The Product Innovation team works in constant collaboration to pursue end-to-end innovation for multiple clients.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead development of  new products across multiple product categories and throughout all phases of product development – from initial bench development, small batch production to commercial launch
• Lead new ingredient sourcing, evaluation, costing, qualification and specification, developing nutritional specs, and other relevant activities for product development
• Build clear work plan, design of experiments and success criteria for new products 
• Lead client interactions and manage project intakes and updates
• Manage time and priorities across multiple projects in collaboration with the team
• Sensory testing: create, design and conduct testing
• Plan and execute day to day project and lab activities
• Ability to scale up recipes and attend plant trials at co-packers as needed
• Conduct shelf life assessments and tests 

Requirements

• Experience working with plant based proteins and development of plant based products
• 3+ years of hands-on experience in food development with a BS or MS in food science or related field
• Experience working in small startup, fast-paced innovation-centric environment
• Self-starter, ability to be flexible with changing priorities and timelines
• Creative problem solver and team player
• Ability to manage multiple projects with emphasis on data collection and organization
• Ability to work in-person at our Product Innovation Lab in San Mateo, CA.
• Ability to lift 30-40 lbs

About KitchenTown

KitchenTown is a food startup incubator and service provider playing a critical role in the development, commercialization, and launch of impact driven and transformational food products.

Salary: competitive, commensurate with experience 

Benefits: This is a full time position. Benefits include Healthcare, PTO, VTO, Stock Options. Ample opportunity for career advancement as the company grows.

To Apply

Submit a resume and why you think you’d be a good fit for this role to isha@kitchentowncentral.com with the subject line: Food Scientist. Thank you!

Job Purpose and Summary 

We are looking for an experienced Culinologist to join our Product Innovation team at KitchenTown! This group works directly with the most promising food startups, entrepreneurs, scientists, and legacy companies to develop new food and beverage products. The most innovative food startups in the world—from alternative proteins to automated restaurants to functional products—come to KitchenTown to launch their companies. Your job is to create new products in collaboration with those brands. KitchenTown is an energetic food hub teeming with entrepreneurs defining the future of food. You want to make foods that are joyful to eat, nourish the body and mind, or regenerate the assets on which they depend. 

Candidates love variety, are creative, and are able to demonstrate strong technical knowledge while working in a fast paced environment. This person should have a passion for food innovation, a desire to improve the food system, and enjoy working as part of a small, nimble team in a lab setting. The Product Innovation team works in constant collaboration to pursue end-to-end innovation for multiple clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, duplicate, or modify formulations
• Formulate, apply, and test at bench level and evaluate outgoing products ensuring proper product development
• Create finished samples and arrange for completed products/samples to be shipped to customers
• Create and update existing nutritional’s and label declarations
• Collect and maintain future and current documentation from vendors
• Conduct product sensory evaluations and evaluate those results.
• Analysis of final products to ensure compliance with labeling standards, food consistency, and adherence to cost standards
• Maintain accurate project files, formulas, specifications, and data
• Communicate with internal and external customers and suppliers
• Contact vendors to receive sample products for testing and pertinent information, including but not limited to, specification sheets, nutritional’s, allergens, grain-free statements, gluten-free certifications, and kosher certifications
• Update existing formula directions in the database

Requirements

• Degree in Food Science/Culinology or related field, experience in Plant-Based Meat alternatives or meat a plus
• Hands-on experience in the development of food formulation using laboratory instrumentation, pilot plant equipment, and scale-up is a plus
• Experience working with plant-based proteins and developing of plant-based products
• 3+ years of hands-on experience in food development with a BS or MS in culinology, food science, or related field
• Experience working in a small startup, fast-paced innovation-centric environment
• Self-starter, ability to be flexible with changing priorities and timelines
• Creative problem solver and team player
• Ability to manage multiple projects with an emphasis on data collection and organization
• Ability to work in person at our Product Innovation Lab in San Mateo, CA.
• Ability to lift 30-40 lbs 

About KitchenTown

KitchenTown is a food startup incubator and service provider playing a critical role in developing, commercializing, and launching impact-driven and transformational food products.

Salary: competitive, commensurate with experience 

Benefits: This is a full-time position. Benefits include Healthcare, PTO, and VTO. Ample opportunity for career advancement as the company grows.

To Apply

Submit a resume and why you think you’d be a good fit for this role to info@kitchentowncentral.com with the subject line: Food Scientist.