About us

Vow is a food company - a very different one. We’re creating real meat products from animal cells instead of the animal itself.

We’re bringing together cutting edge innovations in science, engineering, culinary and design to make sustainable food that’s both irresistible and available to billions of people worldwide.

The role:

As a Food Materials Scientist at Vow, you will bridge the gap between research and product development, leveraging your scientific knowledge and experience to help us create meat that meat eaters choose selfishly. Your expertise will directly contribute to the quality of our products and the impact we make on the food industry (and world).

You will collaborate with Food Scientists, Engineers and Product Specialists. Your work will range from providing advice to engineers on the impact of processing technologies, to collaborating with Food Scientists on ingredient selection for development, to sourcing and evaluating new ingredients/processes for product innovation.

The experience/skills you will bring:

• 5+ years experience in food or ingredient development
• A degree in a relevant scientific discipline, preferably a master's or PhD, with a focus on Materials Science, Food Science, or a related field.
• Knowledgeable about the structure/properties of proteins, starches, hydrocolloids, and how they function in food-related materials.
• Knowledge of matching ingredients to standard food processing techniques to enhance foods.
• Hands-on experience developing protocols for the characterisation of food ingredients by developing unique analytical methods using chemistry, rheology, texture analysis, or other scientific means.

The following experience is desirable, but not essential:

• Knowledge in fluid and physical properties (e.g. rheometry, mechanical testing) of materials and drawing correlations to food sensory experience or application in manufacturing processes

You will:

• Collaborate with Food Scientists, Engineers and Product to understand product gaps and produce a range of innovative ideas to address them.
• Apply your deep understanding of functional ingredients and how they interact with various processes to enhance product texture.
• Bring your strong experimental design skills to test and validate new product ideas.
• Advise engineers on how different processing technologies might impact our products' texture, quality, and overall appeal.
• Work closely with product developers on ingredient selection for development, ensuring the best use of functional ingredients for our products.
• Source and evaluate new ingredients that could bring about exciting improvements and innovations in our product line.
• Collaborate with different teams across the company, offering your insights on how different materials can be effectively used in their processes.
• Design and implement process controls in collaboration with engineers to ensure consistent quality and performance of our products.

What success looks like:

• Within 3 months you will be independently carrying out assessments of new ingredients and working closely with product development to support their incorporation into new products.
• Within 6 months you will have characterized the use of a process new to Vow, demonstrating how it can be used to create irresistible products and how to control it to produce desirable variations.  You will have established yourself as an invaluable member of the team that brings unique perspectives and knowledge to producing products with better taste and texture.
• Within 12 months you will have a pipeline of new ingredients and processes to explore, operating multiple of each through different levels of our development cycle. You will be researching and establishing new areas of knowledge unique to Vow.

VOW, MORE THAN JUST A JOB.

Who we are and why join:

• We are building a diverse, mission-led dream team of “Vowzers.” Our mission is to make food products for everyone. To do that well we need a workforce that’s representative of the people we serve. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view - so we’re building a culture to match. Be yourself and come as you are.
• Work on cutting-edge technology. We’re bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, and food, to recreate the world’s most tantalising and unique culinary experiences. All without compromising on ethics or our planet along the way. Since our inception in 2019, we have held the title of being the first startup to cultivate meat from the cells of an undomesticated animal, and have served up our exotic meats ranging from kangaroo dumplings to alpaca sliders in tastings with world-renowned chefs.
• Work with and learn from the best. Our team includes some of the world’s top scientists, innovators, operators, and creatives with decades of industry experience. Despite our experiences though, we all strive to build, break, learn, and repeat. We see the impossible as temporary and strive to learn and support our company and fellow Vowzers' growth as much as possible.
• We’re fully funded and ready to go. We are a growing Aussie biotech start-up backed by Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Grok Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, P7 Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and PeakBridge VC.

Vow perks and benefits:

• Everyone is an owner. In addition to competitive base salaries, each and every ‘Vowzer’ owns equity in the company so we can all benefit from our hard work and future success.
• Generous paid parental leave. We offer 8 weeks of paid caregiver leave and an additional 8 weeks paid leave for the birth giver.
• Generous relocation budget & support. Support for interstate or overseas team members and their families (including pets!)
• Flexible working hours and location. We value work-life balance. While we’re mostly back in the office, you’re free to choose the best way for you to work.
• Unlimited personal leave. At Vow we recognise that sometimes you need time off to recuperate, look after your mental health, or simply deal with an emergency. We put unlimited personal leave in place to empower you to truly bring your best self to work every single day and you are always paid for days taken off as personal leave.
• Heaps of tasty samples from our culinary centre. Our fantastic "food inventors" on the Vow team are always cooking up new product prototypes, and all Vowzers are given the opportunity to taste, give feedback, and learn from their culinary prowess.
• An awesome converted warehouse “campus” in Alexandria. Complete with a glass-walled lab, manufacturing line, free snacks, a culinary centre, and professional-grade coffee machine in our cafe, as well as a DIY workshop for all hands-on projects.
• Human and dog friendly office! An inclusive community and culture, in a welcoming office, complete with friendly “Vowzer” dogs!
• A variety of social clubs. We encourage all our Vowzers to build the culture with us and share what you love by creating social clubs across the business. From book clubs to hiking groups, we’re always looking for ways to learn and engage with our team.

You don’t have to have every listed requirement and skill to be a great fit - you may even teach us something about what we should be looking for! If you are passionate about this opportunity and think you have the skills to succeed, please apply! If not, but you know someone who might be interested, please share this post!