Materials Scientist

OVERVIEW

Hooray Foods is on a mission to combat climate change, enhance the world's ecosystems, and prevent animal suffering, all by providing people around the world with delicious food that gives them the same experience and joy as eating animal products - Hooray!!

Our first product is a plant-based bacon called Hooray Bacon that looks, handles, and tastes almost like the real thing. We need an amazing Materials Scientist to help make our current product better and lead innovation in rheology and soft material science.

You will work closely with a small team of Scientists to support research and development efforts of the company. This role will be responsible for the benchtop development and modification of plant-based food products. The focus of this position will be on developing and improving the texture of plant-based meats. This individual will gain hands-on experience in developing plant-based meat analogues in a laboratory/kitchen setting. Successful individuals will be result-oriented, self-motivated, and meticulous about their work. Taking ownership of the work that you do, and approaching tasks with an organized, methodical manner will render you successful in this position.

Your work will be based in our R&D kitchen and analytical lab in downtown San Francisco where you'll work closely with the entire Hooray team.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and execute formulation experiments focused on improving texture of plant-based meat analogues
• Analyze and quantify the texture of various food materials through mechanical and thermal testing (DSC, TGA, rheometry, instron, SEM, etc)
• Quantify and optimize food prototype characteristics such as juiciness, mouthfeel, density, bite, and chew
• Synthesis of polymers with emulsion polymerization and crosslinking reactions
• Characterize the gelation properties of various proteins and polysaccharide in gel matrices
• Create novel hydrogel/oleogel emulsion systems with desired thermal and mechanical properties
• Collaborate with Food Scientist team to reformulate, alter, and move forward in data-driven experimental designs
• Generate ingredient functionality database from experimental results
• Collaborate with Food Scientist team to prepare food ingredient materials based on property requirements for bench-top prototypes
• Present research findings and reports in a well-organized written and verbal manner
• Participate in pilot scale production runs as required

QUALIFICATIONS

• Ph.D. in Material Science, Polymer Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Food Science, Physics or a related degree
• Preferably Ph.D. with +1 years of experience in food industry
• Deep knowledge of soft-materials chemistry (emulsions and/or hydrocolloids), rheology, carbohydrate science, and protein-polysaccharide complexes
• Experience working with oleogels or hydrogels
• Hands-on experience with rheometry, DSC, SEM, and Instron testing
• Hands-on experience working in a food product development laboratory: prototyping, ingredient functionality discovery, rheology, texture analysis, analytical testing
• Demonstrated success in experimental design, execution, and improvement
• Strong leadership, teamwork, and communication skills
• Detail oriented and extremely organized
• Excellent time management, organization skills, and project management skills
• Plant-based product development experience is preferred
• Must be authorized to work in the United States for Hooray Foods, Inc. Sponsorship available in certain cases.

WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Laboratory kitchen and office with less than 10% travel
• Must be able to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time

We're a small and mighty team, but as we grow we know the most important thing is that we have an amazing team that shares the same vision for the world and knows how to work together to get there. To us, this means diversity, creativity, teamwork, passion, compassion, and an ability to have fun with the work we are doing.