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PROJECT EADEN is seeking an R&D & Scale-up Food Scientist to own plant-based meat product development end-to-end, from lab-scale prototyping through commercial production. You will work on both the LEKKA retail brand and B2B customer products, improving key attributes such as appearance, texture, flavor, and nutrition through hands-on experimentation and data-driven insights.
Key Responsibilities:
Product Development (R&D):
- Design and run systematic lab experiments to refine formulations and processes, testing ingredient functionality and process parameters against clear product goals
- Improve product appearance, texture, flavor, and nutrition while optimizing ingredient costs
- Choose and run appropriate analyses: sensory tests (discriminative, descriptive, hedonic) and texture analysis measurements
- Analyze results using statistical methods, validate or challenge hypotheses, and propose evidence-based next steps; track scientific literature for emerging technologies and ingredients
Scale-up and Production:
- Run pilot and scale-up tests both in-house and at co-manufacturing sites to validate lab formulations at larger scale, optimize processing parameters, and prepare products for full-scale production
- Troubleshoot with quality and production teams; set critical process parameters and quality checkpoints for consistent runs
- Assess equipment performance and work with engineering on equipment selection and modification
- Regular travel to co-manufacturing sites for scale-up testing
Cross-Functional Work:
- Maintain complete records of experiments and results; keep process specifications, SOPs, and production guidelines up to date
- Collaborate closely with product development, production, quality, and engineering teams to keep projects aligned with timelines and OKRs
- Manage the food lab: keep it organized, clean, well-stocked, and safe; order trial ingredients on time
The role bridges lab innovation and factory-floor reality. You will translate formulations into robust, cost-efficient manufacturing processes and ensure that the taste and texture created in the lab reaches customers exactly as intended.
Requirements:
- 3–7 years of professional experience in food product development and/or food manufacturing
- Preferably with plant-based foods, alternative proteins, processed foods, or ingredient applications
- Hands-on lab experience plus exposure to process development and scale-up
- Education: degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline (or equivalent professional experience)
- Strong understanding of food formulation, ingredient functionality, and processing techniques
- Familiarity with sensory evaluation methods and statistical analysis
- Experience with scale-up challenges and process optimization
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; German a plus
- Collaborative mindset and comfort working across R&D, production, quality, and engineering teams
