Lab Technician (Flavor)

Who we are

At Voyage Foods, our mission is to make delicious, sustainable and accessible foods that are better for people and the planet. All of our products work together to support and sustain a food system designed for everyone, now and into the future. We're a team of food scientists, CPG experts, and professionals with a passion for making good food available for generations to come.

What do peanut butter, chocolate and coffee have in common? They're some of our favorite foods, but are inaccessible and unsustainable. That's why we created our Nut-Free Spreads, Cocoa-Free Chocolate and Bean-Free Coffee. From food allergies to climate change and unjust labor practices, the foods we love are in serious need of an upgrade. Our future-proofed foods are always top 9 allergen-free, vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, affordable and most importantly, utterly delicious.

In 2022, Voyage Foods announced our $36 million Series A to enable the growth of our teams as well as support demand generated from our retail and B2B partnerships. Voyage Foods’ Series A was led by UBS O-Connor and Level One Fund with participation from Horizons Ventures, SOSV’s Indie Bio, and others. It’s a great time to join our team!

How we work

We’re a rapidly growing team of people who value diversity in all its forms. We love adding new perspectives and appreciate those who ask questions that help us challenge assumptions, explore new directions, and improve what we’ve already built. We are a group of like-minded difference makers. Curiosity drives our development. We have tenacity and a risk-taking mentality at every level of our organization to keep challenging normalcy. We believe it’s our responsibility to create an environment in which every person can bring their full, authentic selves to work. We push each other to be our best and do our products proud.

About the role

We are looking for a Lab Technician to join our R&D team, reporting to the Senior Analytical Scientist. In this capacity, you will be primarily responsible for assisting and supporting our team in all things flavor, including general assistance with flavor and product development. This position will also require chemical handling know-how. Responsibilities can vary daily, and will also include general operations.Your primary responsibilities will include working with food scientists, analytical scientists, and flavor chemists to assist with and perform experiments for various R&D projects. This position requires basic laboratory skills especially chemical-handling and wet chemistry techniques. As we are a start-up and small team, responsibilities can vary daily and will also include general operations. This is a great opportunity for an individual looking to develop in their career within a fast-paced and rapidly growing organization.

This is an exempt position based at our 2500 Campbell St. facility in Oakland, California.

What you’ll do

• Routinely compound flavors and dilute chemicals for R&D work and production.
• Maintain and ensure proper record-keeping of flavor formulations
• Conduct testing on food and beverage samples to identify material-specific characteristics about prototypes and commercial targets. This includes pH, TA, aW, moisture content, texture analysis, rheometry, spectrophotometry, peroxide value, and more.
• Assist analytical chemists with sample preparation, including weighing and extractions, as well as preparation and dilution of reference materials for instrument calibrations.
• Ensure the organization of equipments, chemicals, and consumables
• Oversee lab equipment maintenance and calibration
• Execute administrative tasks assigned (Preparing, packing, and shipping of samples, products)
• Develop standard operating procedures to ensure that lab equipment and instrumentation are in good repair and kept current with respect to cleaning, preventive maintenance, calibration, and inspection, coordinating with lab users, and external service providers
• Assist purchasing of lab consumables and materials
• Present data and research during meetings
• Perform other duties as assigned

What makes a great candidate

• Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills
• Experience working as a lab member in the past. Technician experience a plus.
• Knowledge of solution preparation, chemical handling, and implementation of lab safety is a must
• Experience with performing assays, titrations, and other measurements is a plus.
• Experience with analytical chemistry especially gas chromatography and mass spectrometry is a plus.