Product Development Extrusion Scientist Jobs (NOW HIRING)

What We're Looking For

Just Food Company is seeking a Senior Food Scientist, Product Development to lead the development, commercialization, and continuous improvement of products across our portfolio, with an initial focus on Just Meat.

This is a highly hands-on role for a technically rigorous food scientist who thrives at the intersection of formulation, process development, and manufacturing. The ideal candidate understands how ingredient functionality, protein chemistry, and product design translate from bench experimentation to pilot trials and ultimately to commercial production.

While experience with extrusion and alternative protein systems is highly desirable, we are ultimately seeking an analytical product developer who can apply scientific principles to solve complex technical challenges, unlock product innovation, and deliver commercially successful products at scale.

Based at our Emeryville headquarters, this role will work closely with Product Development, Operations, Quality, and our co-manufacturing partners to ensure products are scalable, manufacturable, and consistently deliver against quality and performance expectations.

What You'll Do

• Drive hands-on bench experimentation to prototype, evaluate, and refine formulations, developing a deep understanding of ingredient functionality and process interactions before advancing products to scale.
• Develop and optimize formulations to improve product quality, nutrition, cost, manufacturability, and overall consumer experience.
• Design and lead structured development plans, pilot trials, and commercial-scale manufacturing runs, translating experimental learnings into actionable product improvements.
• Define product performance targets and evaluation frameworks that ensure development efforts remain aligned with quality, consumer experience, and commercial objectives.
• Lead the full development lifecycle from concept through commercialization, maintaining hands-on involvement throughout the process to ensure product intent is successfully translated to large-scale production.
• Develop and optimize extrusion parameters, including moisture, temperature, shear, and die configuration, to achieve target texture, structure, and product performance.
• Partner closely with co-manufacturing facilities, spending meaningful time onsite to support production trials, troubleshoot technical challenges, and generate insights that drive formulation and process improvements.
• Conduct root-cause analysis of production, quality, and performance challenges, using findings to inform future product and process development efforts.
• Identify, evaluate, and implement new ingredients, technologies, and manufacturing approaches that expand product capabilities and advance innovation across the portfolio.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, and external manufacturing partners to successfully commercialize new products and improve existing ones.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Food Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline required; advanced degree preferred.
• 5+ years of hands-on food product development, commercialization, or food science experience within a food manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success bringing products from benchtop development through pilot and commercial production.
• Strong understanding of ingredient functionality, protein systems, food chemistry, and structure-function relationships.
• Experience designing and executing structured experimentation to solve formulation, processing, and manufacturing challenges.
• Proven ability to translate laboratory findings into commercially scalable manufacturing processes.
• Experience troubleshooting manufacturing environments and driving data-based process improvements.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Product Development, Operations, Quality, and external manufacturing partners.
• Experience with extrusion-based systems, alternative proteins, texturized protein technologies, or comparable food manufacturing processes strongly preferred.
• High-moisture extrusion experience strongly preferred.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to translate technical insights into practical recommendations for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to manufacturing sites.

Why Join Just Food Company

• Be at the forefront of building the next generation of alternative protein products.
• Own high-impact technical work that directly influences the success and growth of our Just Meat platform and broader product portfolio.
• Work in a lean, highly collaborative environment where your contributions are visible and meaningful.
• Partner closely with leadership, R&D, and manufacturing teams to shape the future of product innovation and commercialization at Just Food Company.

Compensation: The expected base salary range for this role (based in Emeryville, CA) is $150,000 - $175,000. Final compensation and level will be determined based on factors including experience, skills, qualifications, and overall fit for the role.

Additional Information & Requirements

• This is a full-time onsite role based at our headquarters in Emeryville, CA. We are prioritizing candidates are currently located within a commutable distance of our office.
• This role requires unrestricted domestic and international travel up to 30%.
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. While Just Food Company may consider employment sponsorship on a case-by-case basis, we are unable to support most visa sponsorships at this time.
• Just Food Company participates in E-Verify.