R&D Technician - Rivalz

About Rivalz

Founded in the farm to fork capital, Davis, CA in 2022, Rivalz is disrupting the $1T extrusion industry with foods that taste better, feel better, and do better for people and the planet. Rivalz is the first food company to apply AI to the cooker extruder, allowing for novel food product designs that are nutrient rich: high protein and low glycemic, without sacrificing taste or affordability, ultimately helping to reverse the 50-year pandemic of malnutrition, diabetes, and obesity.

Rivalz is on a mission to create nutrient-packed snacks that taste better and work harder, because it is not about what we take out, it is about what we put in. Our game changing snacks rival any traditional snack on flavor and provide a new way of thinking about nutrition. We are setting out to give those snacking goliaths a little healthy competition with snacks that tastes better and do better. Welcome to the future of snacking!

About the Position

Provide laboratory, pilot and factory level research, development and operational support services for Rivalz. This role is primarily responsible for supporting the batching of raw materials in support of the conversion of Rivalz finished goods, laboratory, pilot and factory scale experiments. Trial and production preparation including area and tool sanitation, assembling and coordinating products for shipping, sampling, populating analytical chain of custody forms, data capture and analysis are primary job functions. Attention to detail and a quality mindset are key.

Areas of Focus:

• Ingredient Batching Proper – Area set-up, tool sanitation, quality validation (swabbing) 
• Batching Proper – Recording actual weights and lot codes
• Post-Batching Clean-Up – Clean, sanitize and store tools in environmentally protected bags
• Sampling – Raws and finished goods (Beginning-Middle-End, lab chain-of-custody form population and submission)
• Data Acquisition and Analysis – Moisture, color, texture, density, cell structure, size, etc.
• Post-Event Samples – Compilation, packing and shipping
• Inventory – All raw and packaging materials

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities)

• Adhere to Mission/Vision/Values of the Company.
• Possesses a ‘Mission First’, ‘Team First’ mindset.
• Exhibits servant leadership, integrity, humility, ownership, and bias for action.
• Comfortable with failure - Handles setbacks with grace and determination.
• Excels in fast paced high stress environments.
• Veterans greatly appreciated.
• Has an eye for continuous improvement.
• Knows how to execute root cause analysis and drive corrective actions.
• Experience in CPG and/or emerging food brand operations.
• Excellent organizational abilities and attention to detail.
• Excellent oral and written communication with strong emphasis on follow-up.
• Experience with Microsoft Office and Outlook with an emphasis upon Excel.
• Familiarity with cooker-extrusion technology preferred.
• Experience in the food/CPG R&D and manufacturing is a plus.
• Willing to learn, ability to deal with ambiguity and work independently as well as collaboratively.
• Bilingual English and Spanish working within a multi-cultural environment is a plus.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in a Food Science, Engineering or culinary Arts discipline
• Minimum 2-3 years of demonstrated experience working in a laboratory or factory environment
• Material Movement – Must have the ability to lift fifty pounds
• Forklift certification is a plus but not essential
• Ability to travel 20%
• Candidate will be at plant in Davis, CA during production otherwise position is remote

Compensation

Competitive compensation, with benefits

Position 

Full Time; Reporting to Head of R&D/AI