BTP Internship (BTP students only)

About us

Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods grows meat, poultry, and seafood directly from animal cells. These products are not vegan or vegetarian—they are delicious meat, made without the need to raise and slaughter billions of animals. UPSIDE Foods recently became the first company in the world to receive the US FDA greenlight for cultivated meat, and UPSIDE's cultivated chicken will be available to consumers following USDA inspection and label approval.

Founded as the world's first cultivated meat company in 2015, UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) has achieved numerous industry-defining milestones, including being the first company to produce multiple species of meat (beef, chicken, and duck). The company believes that people shouldn't have to choose between the foods they love and a thriving planet, and is working to build a better food system with access to delicious, humane, and sustainable meat, poultry, and seafood. UPSIDE Foods has won various industry awards, including New York Times' Good Tech Awards, FastCo's Next Big Thing in Tech, and the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources. UPSIDE Foods has raised a total of $608 million, including from the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Baillie Gifford, Bill Gates, Cargill, John Doerr, John Mackey, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest, Richard Branson, Softbank, Temasek, Threshold, Tyson Foods, and others.

About this internship

The BTP program R&D intern will be responsible for developing and validating novel methods to generate stable cell lines for cultivated meat. You will be working with stem cells, molecular characterization tools, and automated systems for marine animals. You will also implement and optimize experiments while employing critical thinking and organizational skills. You will be responsible for running cell culture experiments under the direction of the Discovery - Madison Director to support crustacean cell culture and media development. You should be capable of designing, troubleshooting, and executing experiments independently while employing critical thinking and organizational skills. This laboratory-based position also requires cell cultivation, maintaining lab operations, mid-scale cellular bioprocessing, and innovative tissue production. You will be working with a team of innovative scientists to gain industry experience and make significant contributions.

Responsibilities include

• Isolation and maintenance of new cultures isolated from animal sources
• Cell culture techniques including thawing, subculturing, cell banking, and assay development with aseptic technique
• Cell culture assays: Cell transfections, gene expression analysis, protein/DNA quantification, and phenotype characterization.
• Design, set up, and execution of experiments independently or with guidance from the team/project lead
• Molecular biology techniques: RNA isolation, RT-qPCR, immunostaining, flow cytometry
• Regular reagent, buffer, and fresh media preparation
• Analyze, synthesize, and present data to the research team

About you

• Completing your Ph.D. in molecular biology, bioengineering, cell biology, genetics, or a related field
• Ability to read and interpret scientific literature
• Proficient in aseptic cell-culture techniques such as cell passaging, maintenance, expansion, and selection
• Knowledge of molecular techniques (PCR, RT-qPCR)
• Detail-oriented, with excellent data collection and recording for experimental design and results
• Demonstrable ability to adhere to ambitious timelines
• Excellent verbal and written communication, organization, and time-management skills

Who you'll work with

• This role will work mostly with the Discovery team, but we interact with every function in the company! It's a rare opportunity to learn about all parts of the business and industry.
• While we expect growth in all functions in the next 1-2 years, this role will most frequently interact with our R&D teams in Madison.

Length of internship

• 12 weeks

UPSIDE Foods is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Our company-wide mission is to create a product for everyone, so we are deeply committed to having teams and leaders that reflect this mission.