Scientist - Media Development

About Us

Mission Barns is where some of the world’s smartest, most passionate people are pioneering the future of food. We are scaling up and optimizing our process to provide sustainable, safe, and humane meat products to the world. 

We are a venture-backed startup with decades of experience in cell biology, tissue engineering, media development, food science, bioreactor design, and more. We’re united by our collective drive to solve difficult problems, ask tough questions, and apply cutting-edge science and engineering. At Mission Barns, you’ll have the freedom to dream big and do the best work of your life.

As a member of our Cell Line Development team, this role will entail contributing to Mission Barns’ effort to develop proprietary media for our unique animal cell lines, and involve collaboration with colleagues across teams to advance our mission to produce safe, humane, and sustainable cell-based fat. This role is ripe for innovation and discovery, with responsibilities encompassing conceptualization, experimental design, execution, documentation, synthesis, and communication of research findings. Title and responsibilities will be commensurate with experience.
Position

• Full-time, exempt
• San Francisco, CA
• Full time employees enjoy medical, dental and vision coverage, flexible holiday and vacation time, stock options, 401k, and ample opportunity for career advancement as the company grows.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead workflows to optimize Mission Barns’ animal-component-free cell culture media formulations for various applications
• Develop and lead workflows to develop animal-component-free cell culture media formulations for novel cell lines
• Prepare various R&D cell culture media to produce a diverse range of experimental compositions
• Apply chemical analysis techniques to evaluate fresh, spent, and in-process media formulations
• Implement bioassays to analyze media and collect impactful metabolic data from our cell culture systems
• Identify novel directions to expand media research and development
• Design, execute, and interpret experiments
• Present experimental summaries and workflow progression to the broader R&D team
• Provide creative solutions and demonstrate critical thinking
• Collaborate with team members to support upstream and downstream work
• Contribute to a positive, creative, and collaborative company culture

About You

• Passionate about our goal of building a more sensible food system 
• Ph.D. in Biological or Chemical Science/Engineering with a demonstrated focus on cell culture and media development preferred. M.S. with 3+ years of related experience, or B.S. with 5+ years of related experience also suitable. 
• Experience developing novel media formulations for a variety of cell lines
• Experience developing feeds and supplements
• Ability to generate cell culture media from single components
• Expertise in media with different culture modes including batch, fed-batch, perfusion and different cell densities, including high-density cultures
• Experience using a wide variety of both basal and supplemental media components
• Deep knowledge in animal cell culture media composition, component interaction and media metabolism
• Familiarity with media component safety and regulatory requirements
• Track record of peer-reviewed papers or high impact application of media work in the industry
• Industrial and/or startup experience preferred but not required
• Excellent communication skills and presentation skills
• Scientific rigor towards continuous improvement of state of art of cell culture media research
• Ability to show adaptability and flexibility in a fast-paced startup environment is a must
• Liquid handler experience is a plus

Full time employees enjoy medical, dental and vision coverage, flexible holiday and vacation time, stock options, and ample opportunity for career advancement as the company grows.

Mission Barns is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability status.