Senior Research Associate - Flavor Research

Impossible Foods was founded to transform the global food system and reduce the impact of climate change by making the world’s most delicious, nutritious, and sustainable meat, fish, and dairy — from plants. We’re building a rockstar team of brilliant, collaborative, mission-driven individuals who take pride in using their diverse skills to contribute to saving our planet.

Want to join the movement? You can help us solve the most urgent, important challenge facing the world today (and have fun doing it).

We are seeking a mission-aligned Senior Research Associate to join the Flavor Research Department. You will work on understanding the analytical chemistry of beef flavor and use this information to create delicious novel product concepts and design the flavor research that drives the development of innovative flavor systems. And you will integrate these flavor systems into products. You are a curious, analytical, collaborative, and creative problem solver that enjoys building innovations and has experience in flavor research.

Essential Job Functions:

• Keep a detailed experimental notebook and batch records
• Use detailed sensory and instrumental assays to guide and validate progress
• Voice ideas, concerns, and solutions to teammates
• Design experiments which will answer flavor team objectives
• Work as part of a team to deliver complex novel plant-based meat products
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other R&D teams
• Be a part of the team that which drives recreating flavor systems with meat identity, flavor integration in formulations, and finding solutions for off-flavors
• Use outside-the-box exploration: playful exploration and de novo prototyping
• Assemble prototypes to answer product research objectives
• Use analytical approaches to identify and quantify key flavor compounds and reconstruct flavor profiles
• Participate in team tastings

Basic Qualifications:

• Experience with analytical methods of sample preparation for analysis
• B.S./M.S. in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Food Science, or similar field with 1+ year of product innovation experience or analytical lab experience
• Strong chemical intuition and knowledge of flavor chemistry
• Experience in designing experiments, data analysis, data interpretation, and communication results to fellow researchers
• Experience with GCMS (TOF, single quad, FID)

Preferred Qualifications:

• A passion to create delicious products
• Experience working in a food safe environment
• Self-starter that is naturally curious and enjoys working in a fast-paced environment
• Experience with innovative research and development projects
• Experience with formulation development
• Ability to continuously challenge assumptions to seek innovative solutions

Impossible Foods Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a protected veteran, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or any other trait protected by law.

Impossible Foods offers opportunities to all job seekers including job seekers with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your application for employment or interview process, please contact us by sending an email to [email protected] or call 855-877-6365. Resumes or CVs submitted to this email inbox will not be accepted.

If the ability to work remotely is indicated, this role can be performed from any US state except for Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

This role is not eligible for Visa Sponsorship.

For positions based in Redwood City and Oakland, we offer the above salary range + equity + benefits. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.