Helaina is a team brought together by the belief that health and developmental outcomes of all infants can be improved through nutritional options closest to breast milk. Our team is revolutionizing the infant nutrition space by developing a food product meant to uniquely support babies in their earliest stages. Helaina’s R&D ecosystem harnesses the power of naturally occurring biological processes in tandem with modern advances in the space of synthetic biology, fermentation, and improved industrial processing. We are a fast-paced startup looking for our next team member who is intensely passionate about advancing synthetic biology for food and beverage products.
In this role, you will work in our NYC lab to formulate our product. The successful candidate will be a hands-on, motivated self starter with a strong sense of initiative. You will be responsible for developing and performing various assays for product and process development and you will be required to work in the laboratory or pilot plant environment.
Primary Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:
- Drive innovation by contributing idea generation of new products/concepts that leverage new ingredients and or processes
- Conduct formulation trials, collect data, interpret results and present during meetings.
- Participate in post manufacture reviews of new formulas to ensure compliance with finished product specifications.
- Operate, maintain and troubleshoot food laboratory equipment (Kjeldahl apparatus, Soxhlet apparatus, Muffle furnace, vacuum oven, spray dryer, etc.).
- Prepare chemical reagents and run assays including Bradford assay, BCA, ELISA, etc.
- Revise and create new raw material specifications. Maintain inventories.
- Work effectively with raw materials vendors on sourcing and documentation needs.
- Function as a technical resource for various teams.
- Other duties and projects, as assigned, in support of R&D and Company success.
Minimum Qualifications
- A master degree or higher in Food Science, Dairy Science, Biological Sciences, or related discipline
- Minimum of 5-7 years of product development experience in dairy, infant formula or related industries.
- Experience working within multiple departments; formulation/product development, QC, Technical Services, etc.
- Knowledge of methodology used to test / release raw ingredients and finished products.
- Infant formula standards / regulations: FDA, Codex and other international regulatory standards
- 2-3 years of experiences in food product formulations at pilot or manufacturing scale
- ● Industrial or benchtop spray drying
- ● Good laboratory practices including organized data documentation and presentation, attention to detail, and ability to follow batch protocols. An experience in an aseptic facility preferred.
- Ability to remotely address product development related issues – after hours and on weekends (when required)
- Energetic, creative, and personally motivated by the future of food and/or biological products.
- Effective communicator, both within a collaborative scientific team and in communicating science to non-technical audiences.
- Has an “anything is possible” attitude and no ego.
Bonus If you have experience with
- Sensory evaluation of foods
- Problem solving tools including fishbone diagrams
