Company Background

In the United States, over a third of all the food we grow is lost to spoilage and wasted before we can eat it. In the developing world, more than half of all produce is lost to spoilage before it can be consumed. Apeel Sciences creates agricultural solutions inspired by and derived from nature for growers to protect their crops and increase the shelf life of harvested fresh produce. We are committed to being a technological and environmental trailblazer at the interface between the agricultural, materials science, chemistry, biotechnology, and engineering industries to eliminate food waste and reduce reliance on pesticides. Our mission is to enable widespread, positive impacts through the development of high-performance pre- and post-harvest products and processes that conserve our precious natural resources and safeguard the Earth’s delicate ecological balance.

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!

About the Formulation Sciences Team

Chemists, chemical engineers, catalysis specialists, and materials scientists form the core of our Formulation Sciences Team. The Team develops new methodologies to extract, create, or reassemble natural building blocks derived from plant biomass for use in our products. After combining those building blocks into formulations for use on fresh produce, the Team studies the produce and the material to better understand the observed properties and improve the formulation. Through a design-develop-test product development cycle, the Team identifies key drivers of produce decay and optimizes the formulations to extend produce shelf life. Once the critical building blocks of our formulations are identified, the Team develops processes to scale-up the extraction and production of the individual components.

Job Description

Apeel Sciences is seeking a creative, resourceful, and passionate candidate with a background in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or Chemistry for the Materials R&D team of Formulation Sciences. An individual interested in this role will be responsible for developing and optimizing new formulations for use in current and future Apeel product offerings. Additionally, Senior Scientists will be responsible for characterizing the applied formulations to develop a mechanistic understanding of the drivers of formulation performance. Senior Scientists are expected to regularly interface with Mechanical Engineers, Biological Scientists, and Plant Physiologists through a design-develop-test product development cycle. Candidates who have demonstrated the ability to develop new materials and characterize material performance will be given preference.

What You’ll Do

• Design and execute experiments to identify possible optimizations of formulations for use in current and future Apeel product offerings.
• Collect and manage research data, and creatively drive research programs through analysis of experimental results.
• Develop new characterization methods to appraise product properties, performance, stability, and viability.
• Effectively communicate methodologies and results to the Formulation Sciences Team and other divisions at Apeel Sciences.
• Keep up-to-date on prior and current literature associated with the formulations and be able to efficiently disseminate major results and findings to the team.
• Demonstrate a commitment to workplace safety through adherence to corporate safety policies.

What You Bring

• A Ph.D. in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering or Chemistry with a focus on material development and characterization.
• Experience in characterizing material systems with a variety of techniques, including microscopic techniques (i.e. X-ray scattering, electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering) and macroscopic techniques (i.e. rheometry, calorimetry, spectrophotometry).
• A proven track record of research excellence, as demonstrated by an extensive publication and presentation record.
• A commitment to workplace and laboratory safety.
• Strong interpersonal skills and experience working in diverse, interdisciplinary teams.
• A demonstrated commitment to learning and mentorship
• Ability to perform indoor and outdoor work in cold or hot environments, and the ability to lift and move boxes of fruit (up to 50 lbs).
• Up to 20% travel (domestic and international) may be required
• Spanish language fluency is 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.