Company Background:

Humans waste an unthinkable amount of food. In fact, nearly half of all of the food we grow in the U.S. never reaches a plate. It's not just the food that we're wasting—we’re throwing away all of the natural resources that went into growing it, too. At Apeel Sciences, we look to nature to derive sustainable solutions to our global food challenges so we can all eat better and waste less. We're pioneering plant-based technologies to help fresh food providers improve food quality, reduce waste, and ensure an abundant future for our planet. We are committed to being a technological and environmental trailblazer at the intersection of the agricultural, materials science, chemistry, biotechnology, and engineering industries, and we’re looking for brilliant, passionate problem-solvers to join us.

Company Culture:

Apeel is comprised of highly talented, deeply passionate, and strongly tight-knit team members who are excited by the opportunity to challenge the status quo, are obsessed with solving problems, and truly seek to positively change how we feed the world.

Our people are core and absolutely fundamental to our company’s success and continued growth. Look around and what do you see? Team members who are working tirelessly and selflessly—not to serve themselves—but to help the team as a whole strategically, aggressively, and collectively realize a shared mission and vision. If you are ready for an opportunity to jump in, tackle challenges (and opportunities!) head-on, take ownership, and drive meaningful outcomes in a highly collaborative, communicative, and dynamic environment, we would love to connect with you!

 Job Description:

Apeel is seeking highly motivated, deeply technical, and strongly process-oriented scientists and engineers to ensure our final products (Apeel-treated fruits and vegetables) are delivering maximum value and quality to our customers. The Product Quality team will frequently interface with our R&D, Engineering, Product, Operations, and Sales teams to facilitate the growth of Apeel’s produce supply base around the world—from farm to packing house to retailer, to consumer! A Principal Product Quality Engineer will develop quality assurance protocols, develop training programs, and drive continuous quality improvement efforts. They will be expected to take a data-driven, systems approach and own quality assurance for multiple produce categories and/or geographies in which Apeel is operating.

 What You’ll Do:

• Develop deep technical product expertise
• Develop a deep understanding of and anticipate the technical and commercial impacts of product performance on fresh produce value chains
• Regularly interface with customers, Apeel research staff, field staff, and engineers to lead the continuous improvement of product application processes and quality assurance tools
• Develop and author product application and quality assurance protocols for Apeel-treated fruits and vegetables
• Author standard operating procedures and ensure compliance from field staff
• Diagnose quality issues in the field and implement timely solutions
• Analyze product performance data and author reports
• Drive innovation in data collection and analysis in relation to product quality and performance
• Play a leading role in equipment commissioning at facilities around the globe
• Develop scalable, global training programs for incoming field staff

What You Bring:

• BS, MS or PhD in materials science, industrial engineering, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, or a related field
• Formal research and/or industry experience (minimum of 10 years)
• Deep understanding of produce physiology, produce pathology, and supply chains
• Demonstrated organizational ability, high attention to detail, and aptitude for data-driven process improvement
• Strong proficiency with software and analysis tools
• Effective verbal and written communication in a technical field
• Candidates with lean / agile and / or Six Sigma training will be given preference
• Ability to perform indoor and outdoor work in cold or hot environments, and the ability to lift and move boxes of fruit (up to 40 lbs)
• Up to 40% travel (domestic and international) may be required, with assignments lasting up to several weeks at a time.
• Spanish language fluency is strongly preferred

Apeel believes that the scale of our impact is determined by the teams that work with us. As such, we seek to build high-performing teams of people from various experiences and backgrounds who can collectively push our company into new realms. We seek a diverse pool of applicants and consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, ancestry, color, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, citizenship, disability, Veteran status, marital status, or any other protected status. If you have a special need or disability that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Please note that Apeel Sciences does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. In the event of a recruiter or agency submitting a resume or candidate without a signed agreement being in place, we explicitly reserve the right to pursue and hire such candidates without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted directly to hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Apeel Sciences.