Manufacturing Engineer
About us
Vow is a cultured meat company on a mission to feed billions and create food that’s good for your tastebuds, your health and your planet.
We’re bringing together cutting edge innovations in science, engineering, culinary and design to create new meats that meat lovers can choose selfishly because it’s nutritious and delicious, and we’re doing so in a sustainable way.
The Role
We’re looking for a Manufacturing Engineer who thrives in ambiguity and learns fast, someone who can take unfamiliar processes and turn them into production-ready manufacturing.
This is a highly hands-on role in which you will spend the majority of your time on the factory floor within our New Product Introduction team, working across both existing production platforms and developing entirely new processes and equipment for food products and future verticals beyond food. You’ll work end-to-end from early definition and equipment selection through build, pilot runs and stabilisation, partnering closely with engineers, operators and scientists across equipment procurement, hands-on setup and commissioning, troubleshooting (process + hardware), and continuous improvement through transfer into production.
You don’t need to be a bioprocessing expert, strong engineering fundamentals, adaptability and first-principles thinking matter most.
The experience/skills you will bring:
An Engineering qualification or equivalent experience
Hands-on experience commissioning and optimising process equipment and workflows in pilot or production environments.
Knowledge of Food HACCP plans or Quality Management Systems (ISO9001, ISO13485, or similar)
Flexibility to carry out shift or weekend work if required
Most comfortable solving problems where they happen - hands-on, on the factory floor, working directly with equipment and operators.
Ability to work effectively within a close-knit team and diverse cross-functional environment
Nice to have industry experience in: brewing, fermentation, bioreactor operation, dairy, industrial scale-up, water, separation technology, fluid transfer, automotive, or similar.
You will:
Bring new processes to life
Take new processes from early concept through pilot and into production-ready deployment
Turn ambiguous requirements into practical plans, equipment needs, and ways of working
Build + commission equipment
Specify, source and procure fit-for-purpose equipment (prioritising off-the-shelf and reusing assets where possible)
Support the hands-on build, setup and commissioning of pilot systems and prototype lines
Troubleshoot + improve
Troubleshoot issues across process + hardware (mechanical, fluid handling, automation/controls)
Drive continuous improvement across reliability, cost, throughput and product quality
Support operations
Create fit-for-purpose SOPs and documentation to support pilot runs and production transfer
Partner with production teams to support ramp-up, training, and smooth handover into stable ops
Mentor and coach junior engineers and technicians
What success looks like:
First month: You will embed within the New Product Introduction team to gain a detailed understanding of our end-to-end processes and pilot/demo facilities. You’ll quickly build context around company-wide technology and process development goals and begin proposing technically sound approaches to support them.
First three months: You will partner closely with technology and manufacturing teams, taking clear technical ownership of one or more process development and scale-up initiatives within NPI. Through this ownership, you will deliver high-impact improvements that directly advance Vow toward its strategic and operational goals.
First year: You will have taken multiple new processes from concept through pilot and into repeatable factory execution. You’ll have commissioned and stabilised key equipment, solved high-impact on-the-floor problems, and helped the team run new processes with confidence through strong documentation, training and continuous improvement.
Who we are and why join:
We are building a diverse, mission-led dream team of “Vowzers.” Our mission is to make food products for everyone. To do that well we need a workforce that’s representative of the people we serve. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view - so we’re building a culture to match. Be yourself and come as you are.
Work on cutting-edge technology. We’re bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, and food, to recreate the world’s most tantalising and unique culinary experiences. All without compromising on ethics or our planet along the way. Since our inception in 2019, we have held the title of being the first startup to cultivate meat from the cells of an undomesticated animal, been called The Spaceship of the cultured meat industry by Forbes and launched our first product under the brand Forged in some of the hottest restaurants in Singapore.
Work with and learn from the best. Our team includes some of the world’s top scientists, innovators, operators, and creatives with decades of industry experience. Despite our experiences though, we all strive to build, break, learn, and repeat. We see the impossible as temporary and strive to learn and support our company and fellow Vowzers' growth as much as possible.
We’re fully funded and ready to go. We are a growing Aussie biotech start-up backed by Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Grok Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, P7 Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and PeakBridge VC.
Vow perks and benefits:
Everyone is an owner. In addition to competitive base salaries, each and every ‘Vowzer’ owns equity in the company so we can all benefit from our hard work and future success.
Generous paid parental leave. We offer 8 weeks of paid caregiver leave and an additional 8 weeks paid leave for the birth giver.
Generous relocation budget & support. Support for interstate or overseas team members and their families.
Unlimited personal leave. At Vow we recognise that sometimes sh*t happens. We don’t want you to stress about work when you need to deal with an emergency or are struggling with something truly difficult. We offer unlimited personal leave to empower you to truly bring your best self to work every single day.
Heaps of tasty samples from our culinary centre. Our fantastic "food inventors" on the Vow team are always cooking up new product prototypes, and all Vowzers are given the opportunity to taste, give feedback, and learn from their culinary prowess.
An awesome converted warehouse “campus” in Alexandria. Complete with a glass-walled lab, 2 factories, shower and towel service, bike rack, free snacks, a culinary centre and plenty of collaboration and chill zones.
Human and dog friendly office! An inclusive community and culture, in a welcoming office, complete with friendly “Vowzer” dogs!
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