Head of Research And Development, The Bland Company
Job Description
The Bland Company is a food and biotech startup that produces cost-efficient, highly functional ingredients by transforming overlooked agricultural by-products using novel biochemical processes.
Our flagship solutions are clean-label proteins designed to help leading food brands reduce their dependence on egg-derived ingredients—without compromising functionality. We’re already in trials with several large CPGs and are backed by top-tier investors and industry advisors. Our founding team is composed of biochemists and biochemical engineers with a track-record of developing next-gen ingredients and a mission to transform the food system.
🔬 The Role
We are seeking a strategic, hands-on, technically exceptional Head of R&D to lead scientific innovation and scale manufacturing. You’ll drive the development of our novel protein ingredients — from lab-scale to real-world application.
You’ll manage a growing team of scientists and application experts working on protein chemistry, scale-up, and formulation science. This is a unique opportunity to define the technical DNA of a high-impact company shaping the future of sustainable food.
🎯 Key Responsibilities:
- Lead R&D across core areas: protein chemistry, process optimisation, and application science
- Translate business goals into clear technical objectives and deliverables
- Define and execute our R&D roadmap — from platform refinement to client-facing application validation
- Identify and evaluate emerging scientific methods and technologies to accelerate progress
- Recruit, manage, and mentor a multidisciplinary team
- Oversee experimental design, data analysis, and documentation
- Collaborate with the founding team on IP strategy, regulatory planning (e.g. GRAS), and grant/scientific communication
- Support scale-up and transfer of R&D to manufacturing environment
- Coordinate with external partners (labs, CROs, academic collaborators, suppliers)
- Contribute to strategic decisions around which food categories and use cases to prioritize, based on ingredient performance and customer feedback
- Oversee the development and management of a world-class laboratory
🎓 Requirements:
- PhD in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Food Science, Biotechnology or a related discipline
- 10+ years industry experience in food ingredient or protein R&D, with a track record of leading projects and teams
- Deep expertise in plant protein structure, plant protein functionality (solubility, emulsification, gelling, water/oil binding, etc.) and protein structure-function relationships
- Experience across protein modification methods — physical, chemical, and biological
- Experience in protein purification and characterisation techniques
- Familiarity with food product development cycles and application testing
- Excellent project management, communication, and mentoring skills
- Exposure to ingredient scale-up and tech transfer from lab to pilot/commercial scale
- Bonus: experience working with upcycled ingredients, co-product valorization
- Bonus: familiarity with regulatory strategy (GRAS, EFSA, etc.)
🎁 What You’ll Get:
- Leadership role at the heart of a high-impact food biotech startup
- Lead a world-class scientific team and build cutting-edge infrastructure from scratch
- Access to global network of advisors and collaborators
- Fast learning, high ownership, and the chance to see your work in products that hit the market
- Competitive compensation + equity
- A collaborative, dynamic team that’s in this for the long run
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4239079412/
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