R&D Director

"We have a love for cultivated meat and see the future of food built on a harm-free philosophy."

Details:

● Type: part-time, moving to full-time

● Hours: Minimum 15 hours/week (Part-Time moving to Full-Time)

● Location: Cape Town, South Africa (note: international applicants welcome)

● Level: Management level

● Reports to: Chief Operating Officer (R&D) and Chief Executive Officer (Commercial)

● Start Date: Flexible

About The Role

We are looking to hire a Research & Development Director to join our growing R&D team in the cellular agriculture field. This role is seeking a team leader who will help to establish Mzansi Meat Co. as a leader in scientific innovation and expertise on the African continent. The successful candidate will lead our research and development team with a focus on process, product, and interpersonal improvement, develop research strategies, improve downstream processing, and assist with product development to support customer acquisition.

The incumbent would need to assist Mzansi Meat Co's leadership team in aligning research priorities and execution with the company’s commercial vision. This role will interface with internal and external collaborators to advance the company’s interests and provide technical and scientific insight for consideration to medium and large-scale projects.

About You

● Mission-aligned: Apply your technical talents to building a more sustainable food system and a better future for humanity.

● You’re proactive. You take initiative and think about the big picture.

● You’re inquisitive, curious, and have a growth mindset.

● You strive to be high-performing and want to work with others who will help you achieve peak performance.

● You’re kind, collaborative, and believe you can learn something from everyone you encounter.

● You thrive in dynamic environments and enjoy “hacking” new and innovative solutions to pressing problems.

In Return, We’ll Support You With

● A competitive monthly stipend, based on experience with the potential for stock ownership.

● A safe, fun, supportive, and collaborative environment that will challenge you to do your best work.

● An open and adaptive workplace; you’ll have the freedom to define and propose best approaches to solving problems

● Opportunity for growth, including weekly 1-on-1s, R&D team meetings, and mentorship from the leadership team.

● Highly impactful work tackling one of the world’s most pressing problems.

Your Key Responsibilities

This role encompasses responsibilities that cut across R&D strategy, operations, production scale-up and team development:

R&D

● Maintain clear and timely communication on R&D activities to the COO and leadership team.

● Identify and establish invention disclosures for building intellectual property with patent

applications & trade secrets and help ensure the company maintains freedom to operate.

● Oversee R&D activities to improve yield, composition, and product quality attributes.

Operations & Production

● Leading a team of scientists and advisors, the director will collaborate to develop a research and development strategy and executional plan focused on product & process improvement.

● Assist in the development of a clear path to commercialization in collaboration with the CEO and COO.

● Development and optimization of standard operating procedures in the lab.

Strategy

● Support the leadership team during fund-raising efforts by translating scientific processes into understandable content for multiple audiences.

● Support Regulatory Affairs initiatives with scientific support and insight in order to facilitate successful and timely approvals.

Team Development

● Assist the COO with hiring efforts. Lead and develop the R&D scientific team, assist with managing HR tasks including on-boarding of new scientists and performance managing all team members.

● Embody the company’s purpose, values and cultural ethos.

Skills And Experience

● M.Sc or PhD in Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biochemical Engineering or closely related field with 3+ years of work experience (experience in mammalian cell culture)

● Demonstrated leadership experience and experience with managing a small R&D team in a commercial environment (not only in an academic setting).

● Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to distill complex scientific information into easily understood, accessible language.

● A team player who engages easily with both internal teams and external collaborators and has the desire to help build a diverse, collaborative, and kind work environment.

● Strong technical writing and proposal writing/reporting experience.

● Solution-orientated and maintains flexible and adaptive approaches to advance the company’s interests in a pre-commercialization environment.

● Strong organizational skills to prioritize and deliver against timelines and competing priorities. - along R&D project management that builds onto this point.

● A positive attitude that embraces the challenges and opportunities of a dynamic and multidisciplinary startup environment.

Job details