Overview
Provide engineering support for capital expenditure and manufacturing infrastructure projects, including identification and management of external engineering resources, coordination of technical workstreams, and oversight of project execution to ensure cost-effective and timely delivery.

Scope of Services

External Engineering Firm Sourcing & Evaluation

• Identify, evaluate, and recommend qualified external engineering firms capable of supporting capital expenditure and manufacturing infrastructure projects.
• Solicit proposals from selected firms for defined engineering scopes.
• Provide comparative analysis of proposals, including technical approach, assumptions, cost structure, and schedule.

Technical Oversight & Value Engineering

• Serve as the primary technical liaison between the company and selected external engineering firms.
• Review and challenge engineering assumptions, cost estimates, and technical approaches to ensure designs represent cost-effective and value-engineered solutions.
• Provide technical input on engineering feasibility, equipment integration, and manufacturing requirements.

Project Management & Coordination

• Track engineering deliverables against agreed scope, milestones, and schedule.
• Maintain organized documentation of engineering plans, deliverables, and technical decisions.
• Coordinate cross-functional technical reviews and ensure incorporation of stakeholder feedback.
• Identify risks, constraints, and potential delays early, and escalate appropriately with recommended mitigation strategies.
• Ensure engineering plans align with facility capabilities and construction timelines.

Facility Integration & Contractor Coordination

Site Evaluation & Engineering Support

• Travel to manufacturing or partner facilities as needed to evaluate sites, support engineering reviews, coordinate with site engineering teams, and assess feasibility of proposed engineering solutions.

Deliverables

• Evaluation and recommendation of external engineering firms for project scopes.
• Comparative proposal analysis and engineering vendor selection recommendations.
• Project tracking documentation outlining engineering scope, milestones, risks, and status updates.
• Technical review feedback and value-engineering recommendations for proposed designs.
• Coordination of engineering reviews and documentation of key technical decisions.

Preferred Experience Profile

• Experience supporting large-scale capital expenditure (CapEx) projects in food processing, food manufacturing, or similarly regulated manufacturing environments.
• Familiarity with food processing equipment, production line integration, and facility infrastructure required for food-grade operations.
• Understanding of food safety, quality, and regulatory considerations that influence facility design and equipment selection (e.g., sanitary design, cleanability, process flow, etc.).
• Strong organizational and project management capabilities, with ability to manage multiple engineering workstreams, vendors, and timelines simultaneously.
• Experience coordinating external engineering firms, contractors, and internal technical teams on complex manufacturing or facility projects.
• Ability to critically evaluate engineering designs, cost estimates, and technical proposals and recommend value-engineered solutions.
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, evolving environments where project scope and priorities may shift.

We’re looking for a highly resourceful, execution-focused Commercial Lead to build and scale our UK presence from the ground up, while also supporting expansion into new European markets through partner activation and enablement.

This is not a traditional sales role. In the UK, you will have direct commercial ownership – launching and growing the business for Just Egg and Just Meat, building customer relationships, and driving revenue.

Across the rest of Europe, your role is to activate and support market entry with identified (or in-progress) partners. You will act as the central liaison and operator, ensuring partners have everything they need to evaluate, launch, and grow in their markets.

If you’re someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves fast, and knows how to make progress without a playbook, this role is built for you.

What You’ll Do

Build & Grow the UK Market (Direct Ownership)

• Own commercial execution in the UK, with near-term focus on launching and scaling Just Egg and Just Meat.
• Open doors with retailers and foodservice operators to close new business.
• Take accounts from first conversation through sampling, launch and ongoing expansion.
• Get hands-on with launches—sampling, training, early customer support, and problem-solving in real time.
• Partner closely with Marketing to execute programs that drive sustained in-market success.

Activate New European Markets (Partner-Led Execution)

• Support expansion into Europe by activating and enabling identified (or in-progress) partners (e.g., Netherlands and beyond)
• Work with partners to understand what’s needed to evaluate and launch successfully—across product, pricing, supply chain, regulatory, and go-to-market.
• Serve as the central liaison between partners and US HQ, coordinating across R&D, Operations, Sales, and Marketing to deliver required inputs (e.g., specs, samples, positioning, pricing)
• Project manage market entry efforts end-to-end – driving timelines, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring follow-through on all sides.
• Remove blockers, maintain momentum, and ensure partners have what they need to move from exploration to execution.

Make Things Happen Without a Playbook

• Manage multiple opportunities at different stages simultaneously.
• Use judgment to prioritize what’s worth pursuing vs. what’s not.
• Translate market and partner feedback into clear, actionable next steps internally.
• Represent the company externally with credibility, responsiveness, and urgency.

What You’ll Bring

• A scrappy, operator mindset—you’re comfortable figuring things out as you go and don’t wait for perfect direction.
• Experience in sales, business development, or commercial roles within food, foodservice, or CPG (ideally plant-based).
• Strong bias for action—you move quickly, follow through, are comfortable asking questions and push for clarity when needed.
• Ability to operate across both selling directly and cross-functional coordination.
• Solid commercial instincts—you can quickly assess viability and risks early.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work across functions and with external partners.
• Comfort acting as the connective tissue between partners and internal teams.
• Strong organization skills with ability to manage multiple stakeholders and keep complex workstreams moving.
• Regular domestic travel with willingness to travel up to 20% internationally without restrictions.

Why This Role

• Opportunity to own a market end-to-end (UK) while helping bring new ones online across Europe.
• High ownership and direct exposure to senior leadership.
• Fast-moving, high-impact environment where execution matters more than process.
• The chance to help scale a category-defining food company internationally.

We’re looking for an Extrusion Scientist / SME to lead extrusion strategy and execution across our emerging Just Meat platform. This role will sit at HQ but serve as the company’s in-house extrusion expert, partnering closely with our co-manufacturing network to ensure consistent, high-quality production at scale.

You will play a critical role in translating product innovation into manufacturable reality — owning extrusion process development, troubleshooting, and optimization to deliver best-in-class texture, performance, and efficiency. This is a highly cross-functional role spanning R&D, Operations, and external manufacturing partners.

What You’ll Do

• Own extrusion expertise for Just Meat and future platforms, serving as the internal SME on high-moisture and/or low-moisture extrusion processes.
• Lead process development and scale-up from bench to pilot to full commercial manufacturing, ensuring successful technology transfer to co-manufacturers.
• Partner directly with co-manufacturing facilities — spending meaningful time onsite — to oversee production runs, troubleshoot issues in real time, and drive continuous improvement.
• Optimize extrusion parameters (e.g., moisture, temperature, shear, die configuration) to achieve target texture, structure, and product performance.
• Collaborate with Product Development to ensure formulations are designed for manufacturability and aligned with extrusion capabilities.
• Drive root-cause analysis and problem-solving for production challenges, including variability in raw materials, process deviations, and scale-related issues.
• Establish process standards and documentation to ensure repeatability, quality, and efficiency across manufacturing partners.
• Evaluate and implement new technologies and ingredients to advance product quality and expand capabilities in alternative protein systems.
• Support broader product innovation efforts as needed, particularly where extrusion is a key enabler.
• Travel regularly to co-manufacturing partners to support commercialization, production runs, and ongoing optimization.

What You’ll Bring

• Master’s or PhD in Food Science, Food Engineering, or a related field.
• 3-5 +  years of hands-on extrusion experience, ideally within plant-based or alternative protein systems.
• Deep expertise in high-moisture extrusion (strongly preferred) and/or textured vegetable protein (TVP) processes.
• Proven track record of scaling extrusion-based products from development to commercial production, including work with co-manufacturers.
• Strong understanding of structure-function relationships in protein systems and how they translate through extrusion.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot live manufacturing environments and drive process improvements under real-world constraints.
• Experience working cross-functionally with R&D, Operations, and Quality teams.
• Willingness and ability to travel on a monthly cadence to manufacturing sites.
• Clear communicator who can translate technical insights into actionable direction for diverse stakeholders.

Why Join Just Food Company

• Be at the forefront of building a new category in alternative protein.
• Own a high-impact technical domain that is critical to the success of our Just Meat platform.
• Work in a lean, highly collaborative environment where you can see the direct impact of your work on products and the broader mission.
• Partner closely with leadership and manufacturing teams to shape how we scale and execute.

Compensation: The expected base salary range for this role (based in Emeryville, CA) is $135,000 - $165,000.

Additional Information & Requirements

• This is a full-time onsite role (5 days/week) at our headquarters in Emeryville, CA.
• This role requires unrestricted domestic and international travel up to 30%
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. Just Food Company participates in E-Verify.

Just Food Company is building a better food system through better products—and we’re looking for someone who can own food safety and quality from end to end. This role is ideal for a self-starter who’s passionate about doing the work and doing it right. You’ll be the point person for all things QA/QC across our internal operations and co-manufacturing partners, with the opportunity to both build and execute systems that scale.

This is a hands-on role in a lean team, suited for someone who thrives in ambiguity, can zoom in and out effortlessly, and knows when to roll up their sleeves and when to step back and see the big picture.

This role reports to the CTO with a dotted line to the COO, and will work cross-functionally with all groups and layers of the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and manage all QA/QC systems across internal sites and co-manufacturers
• Ensure compliance with FDA, USDA, HACCP, PCQI, SQF/BRC, and export regulations
• Oversee raw material, in-process, and finished goods specifications and testing
• Lead audits, corrective actions, and recall readiness efforts
• Manage label development and ensure ongoing regulatory compliance
• Coordinate certification submissions and maintain documentation
• Partner closely with Ops, R&D, and Manufacturing to embed quality throughout the product lifecycle
• Develop and maintain regulatory dossiers for domestic and international markets
• Scale quality systems to support new markets and manufacturing partners
• Champion a culture of proactive quality and continuous improvement
• Travel to co-manufacturing facilities as needed to monitor food safety and quality performance, verify compliance with company standards and regulatory requirements, and partner with site teams to resolve issues and drive continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of relevant food industry experience, including direct QA/QC ownership
• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in food science, Microbiology, Chemistry, or a related field. Advanced degrees or certifications in food safety or quality management are preferred.
• Proven ability to thrive in lean, fast-paced environments—must be both a builder and a doer
• Deep understanding of food safety systems, allergen control, and GFSI certification standards
• Experience with plant-based food manufacturing a strong plus
• Strong working knowledge of food microbiology and product development cycles
• Comfortable working with co-manufacturers and navigating international regulatory landscapes
• Clear communicator, calm under pressure, and able to lead cross-functional workstreams
• Willingness and flexibility to travel both domestically and internationally without restrictions up to 25% (maximum).

The total package

We develop our salaries using market data, internal benchmarks, and candidate experience to ensure fairness and competitiveness. All full-time team members receive:

• Competitive base salary
• Equity
• Up to 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision benefits (up to 80% for dependents)
• Flexible time off

Compensation: The expected base salary range for this role (based in Emeryville, CA/full-time) is $135,000 – $175,000 per year. Final compensation will be based on skills, experience, and overall contribution to the role.

Additional Information & Requirements

This is a full-time regular position based onsite (5 days/week) at our headquarters in Emeryville, CA. We are only considering local candidates.

In compliance with federal law, all new hires must verify their identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete the required Form I-9 upon hire.

Just Food Company and its subsidiaries participate in E-Verify and will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.