Location: Berkeley, CA (onsite), with some occasional travel to our production facility in Petaluma, CA

Full Time/Exempt

About this role:

As the Lab Operations Manager, you will be the driver of our EH&S, lab inventory, purchasing process, compliance, and general lab operations. Building and embedding health & safety and compliance programming through expert knowledge, strong relationship building, and ongoing assessment. Coordinating vendor communications and ensuring accounts are in good standing with new and established partners. You will gather supplies and equipment price quotes and also be available to accept deliveries. Your contributions will enable us to work seamlessly in an environment where scientists have access to supplies and equipment that accelerate our discovery for tastier plant-based products. Come make history AND delicious plant-based foods with us!

Responsibilities:

• Keep the team and our operations safe: ensure compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations, equipment operations standards, etc.
• Ensure safe working environment, identify chemical safety concerns, microbiological concerns, provide appropriate PPE, and procedures
• Hold team safety demonstrations/training, with compliant attendance and retraining documentation
• Research, source, advise, and assist in the selection of supplies and equipment, including future lab build-out strategy and planning
• Vendor management: identify, build relationships, and obtain information on materials such as price, availability, and transportation (tracking/scheduling/receiving)
• Place, accept, and verify deliveries; track shipping and provide updates to team
• Identify defective or unacceptable materials and take corrective action
• Review invoices for payment and communicate with accounting team for fulfillment
• Own receivables problem solving, partnering with Accounting where appropriate i.e. dealing with incorrect invoicing, material quality, and shipping schedules
• Own equipment issues, including warranty inquiries, managing annual preventive maintenance, health/safety compliance, and troubleshooting equipment malfunctions
• Draft SOPs for general lab operations, chemical handling, microbiological handling, and scientific equipment usage
• Execute instructions provided in written, oral, and diagram form
• Maintain consistent and accurate records
• Ability to move/lift 30lbs

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in scientific or related field preferred
• Minimum of 3 years of lab management, legal compliance, EH&S, equipment maintenance, and scientific purchasing experience in an academic or industry lab setting
• Ability and drive to solve practical problems while adapting to new situations where limited standard processes exist
• Experience establishing and maintaining EH&S programs, including delivering training and SOPs
• Effectively present pricing or product specifications and respond to questions from internal stakeholders and external vendors
• Experience with managing chemical inventory, tracking and managing shipments/deliveries, proper chemical storage, and safe hazardous waste removal
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business inquiries including technical RFQ/RFP
• Demonstrated communication and collaboration skills in a fast-paced environment

Qualities:

• Methodical, exceptionally organized, detail-oriented, timely, accountable, affable, collaborative team player
• Strong drive to learn with an open mind and try new things
• Ability to adapt to changing environments and processes
• Curiosity for science, food, cooking, plant-based alternatives, and natural ingredients
• Open and responsive to change

About the job

Climax Foods is on a mission to revolutionize the way we eat. We’re bringing together the brightest minds in data science and food science to replace animals with more efficient ways of transforming plants into the foods we love. Using sophisticated data science and machine learning methods, we are unlocking the entire plant kingdom, reaching the pinnacle of taste, texture, and nutrition.

Our team marries years of experience in inventing and productionizing cutting-edge machine learning and data science tools at companies like Google and SpaceX with operational excellence leading plant-based food companies from the early R&D stage to billion dollar valuations like Impossible Foods, UPSIDE Foods, and JUST.

Climax Foods is backed by mission-aligned investors who bring strategic value allowing us to scale quickly to meet the urgent need for a more sustainable and safe food system, without sacrificing the culturally rich experience of delicious food.

Working at Climax Foods:

We believe in the power of data. Not only in how we are reinventing food, but also in how we work together, hire, and recruit. We put people first. The data is clear that a culture of belonging through inclusive and equitable policies, practices, and structures leads to the most innovative teams. We welcome applications from individuals from every unique background. We also believe that compensating fairly is critical to making our company sustainable, equitable, and inclusive. In addition to salary and benefits, you will also own equity in the company you are growing.

We offer:

• Competitive salary
• 401(k) plan and company match!
• Premium medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Company equity
• Generous vacation and paid time-off policy
• Parent-friendly environment
• Gym membership reimbursement
• HQ in a bustling neighborhood and collaborative environment in Berkeley, CA
• Other great benefits — all driven by our continuously evolving research on creating maximally inclusive, equitable, innovative, and thriving teams