Director of Research and Development

Umami Meats

Umami Meats

Administration
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Posted on Saturday, May 11, 2024
Umami Bioworks is a cell-cultured seafood company that is developing delicious, affordable, sustainable seafood based on our novel plant-derived serum and edible aquatic organism cell lines. We’re on a mission to empower humanity to eat sustainably without sacrifice. We believe the only way to change how the majority of the world eat seafood is to create the most delicious, healthiest seafood available but without the environmental and animal welfare consequences of traditional fisheries and aquaculture.

We’re a venture-backed biotech startup located in Singapore where some of the world’s smartest, most passionate people are pioneering a sustainable food future that is attractive and accessible to people around the world. We are united by our collective drive to ask tough questions, take on challenging problems, and apply cutting-edge science and engineering to create a better future for humanity. At Umami Meats, you will be encouraged to dream big and will have the freedom to create, invent, and do the best, most impactful work of your career.

Umami Bioworks is looking to hire an inquisitive, innovative, and independent Director of R&D to join our R&D team in Bangalore, India.

Roles

  • Lead the research and development efforts of the organization, coordinating multiple R&D workstreams to deliver key milestones that drive commercialization
  • Manager: oversee the company’s scientific endeavors across multiple workstreams, including developing new cell lines and media formulations, bioprocess science, and quality assessment
  • Strategy: guide the overall direction of the company’s R&D efforts, supporting senior management in setting R&D strategy, prioritizing and scoping projects, and defining critical path
  • Mentor & grow R&D team members into capable members of the company able to mature and advance within the company

Responsibilities

  • Managing a team of scientists and supporting staff to ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget
  • Building a strong, capable, high-performing R&D team and effectively managing team performance to deliver on company objectives
  • Developing research proposals, budgets, and timelines for new projects
  • Reviewing proposals from research staff and approving or rejecting them based on scientific merit, feasibility of the project, and alignment with company priorities
  • Participating in strategic planning activities as the primary technical lead, such as identifying new research opportunities, assessing potential commercial applications of research, and developing long-term research plans
  • Establishing alliances with other organizations that have similar research interests or goals to accelerate pace of development and extend team capabilities
  • Communicating organization’s technical progress and philosophy to the public and other stakeholders in written and verbal forms, such as through published papers or presentations

Background & Prior Experience

  • PhD in a technical field with 5+ years in management roles (or equivalent experience)
  • Managed multiple teams of scientists to deliver results in frontier R&D environment, including coordination of activities across teams to harmonize progress & meet deadlines
  • Mentored younger scientists to help them develop their skills & grow into more senior responsibilities
  • Experience with systems thinking & trading system requirements in developing R&D plan

You will work directly with other members of our small but growing team to do cutting-edge science and will have the autonomy to test new ideas and identify better ways to do things.