Discovery Cell Culture Intern

About us

At the forefront of farming and food, UPSIDE Foods is innovating new ways to produce real meat, without the need to breed, feed and slaughter animals. Our process begins with an animal cell, which is cultivated and harvested as meat. The founding company of the industry, UPSIDE Foods is a mission-driven organization focused on bringing to meat lovers an authentic product that is truly humane, sustainably produced, nutritious and delicious! We are now expanding our team of dedicated professionals across disciplines to make better meat for a better world.

About this internship

UPSIDE Foods has a summer internship position for a motivated candidate to work as part of the

R&D team. The Research and Development Intern II will be responsible for establishing and characterizing creative and novel cell line phenotypes. You will be involved in genome engineering and working with DNA, RNA and proteins. The Research and Development Intern II will implement and optimize experiments while employing critical thinking and organizational skills. This laboratory-based position requires performing experiments/assays, maintaining detailed/organized notes, and data interpretation/presentation. You should be creative, enthusiastic and able to work in team environments.

This laboratory-based position also requires cell cultivation lab operations, mid-scale cellular bioprocessing, and tissue production. Routine tissue culture, followed by analysis and interpretation of the data, presentation of findings to the R&D Team, and suggestion of follow-up experiments. You should be capable of designing, troubleshooting, and executing experiments independently while employing critical thinking and organizational skills.

Duties include

• Cell culture maintenance, expansion and selection. 
• Molecular biology techniques: Genomic DNA isolation, PCR, plasmid vector assembly.
• Cell culture assays: Cell transfections, gene expression analysis,  protein/DNA quantification, and phenotype characterization.
• Design, set-up, and execution of experiments independently or with guidance from team/project lead.
• Participating in large-scale bioprocessing procedures for cell and tissue production
• Reagent, buffer, and fresh media preparation
• Organized data collection, management, interpretation, and presentation.

About you

• BS/BA/MS in cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, genetics or closely related science with cell culture experience.
• Strong preference for a Junior or Senior with lab experience outside the classroom, such as previous internship or research assistant experience
• Proficient in aseptic cell-culture techniques such as cell passaging, maintenance, expansion and selection
• Knowledge in molecular techniques (PCR, qPCR), transfections, and genome engineering
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving, and cross-functional environment to develop a scientific knowledge base
• Regularly maintains laboratory notebooks with detailed experimental documentation and results
• Strong intellectual curiosity and resourcefulness with a bias for action!
• You have excellent communication, organizational, attention to detail and problem-solving skills

Length of internship

• 10 - 12 weeks

UPSIDE Foods is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Our company-wide mission is to create a product for everyone, so we are deeply committed to having teams and leaders that reflect this mission.