(Sr.) Extrusion Scientist

Eat Just•Emeryville, CA

11h•Onsite

About The Position

Eat Just is on a mission to build a healthier, safer, and more sustainable food system—starting with what’s on your plate. From pioneering plant-based eggs to making real meat without slaughter, they are reimagining the future of food in ways that are better for people and the planet. They are a lean, passionate team of scientists, chefs, engineers, and operators who believe that doing hard things well can make a meaningful difference, having brought groundbreaking innovations to market like Just Egg and GOOD Meat. The company is looking for an Extrusion Scientist / SME to lead extrusion strategy and execution across their emerging Just Meat platform. This role will be based at HQ but serve as the company’s in-house extrusion expert, partnering closely with their co-manufacturing network to ensure consistent, high-quality production at scale. The individual 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.

Requirements

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.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.

Responsibilities

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.