Protein Chemistry & Process Scientist — Food Innovation

Just Food Company; Emeryville (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 158,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health coverage

Flexible time off

Holidays

Job summary

Just Food Company in Emeryville, CA is seeking a Food/Process Chemist to advance our protein platforms. You will design and execute studies on protein extraction, structure-function, stability, and performance to translate findings into better ingredients and processes.

The role requires a PhD in a related field with 2+ years of industry experience or a Master’s with 5+ years. You will work hands-on, debug ambiguous issues, and collaborate with Product Development, Process/Manufacturing, QA.

Qualifications

• PhD in Food Science, Protein Chemistry, Chemistry or related field with 2+ years industry experience; or Master’s with 5+ years experience.
• Hands-on experience with protein extraction, purification, characterization, functionality, and/or process optimization in food contexts.
• Strong understanding of protein structure‑function and effect of processing on behavior.
• Experience with multiple protein characterization techniques (DSC, spectroscopy, rheology, SDS‑PAGE).
• Ability to design and execute multi-variable experiments using DOE or factorial designs.
• Familiarity with sequence- and structure-based bioinformatics tools (BLAST, alignment, ProtParam).
• Strong analytical judgment to synthesize data into actionable conclusions and recommendations.
• Excellent documentation and communication for technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize novel extraction and processing methods balancing protein functionality and yield.
• Apply analytical methods to understand structure‑function relationships and drivers of performance.
• Troubleshoot and improve protein functionality and stability across processes.
• Evaluate performance through processing, formulation, storage, and shelf life; translate to actionable guidance.
• Interpret complex results, form hypotheses, and plan next experiments.
• Collaborate with Product Development, Process/Manufacturing, and QA to scale findings.
• Maintain rigorous documentation and clearly communicate results to stakeholders.

Skills

PhD in Food Science

Protein Chemistry

Protein extraction

Protein purification

Protein characterization

DOE

Factorial designs

Bioinformatics tools

Data interpretation

Scientific communication

Education

PhD in related field

Master’s degree in related field

Tools

DSC

Fluorescence spectroscopy

Rheology

SDS-PAGE

Job description

Just Food Company in Emeryville, CA is seeking a Food/Process Chemist to advance our protein platforms. You will design and execute studies on protein extraction, structure-function, stability, and performance to translate findings into better ingredients and processes.

The role requires a PhD in a related field with 2+ years of industry experience or a Master’s with 5+ years. You will work hands-on, debug ambiguous issues, and collaborate with Product Development, Process/Manufacturing, QA.