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Senior Automation Engineer

Emeryville, CA
About us:
Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods grows meat, poultry, and seafood directly from real animal cells. These products are not vegan or vegetarian—they are delicious meat, made without the need to raise and slaughter billions of animals. In doing so, the company aims to address some of the most pressing environmental, animal welfare, and public health challenges, while still giving people the meat they love. 
 
Founded as the world’s first cultivated meat company in 2015, UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) has achieved numerous industry-defining milestones, including being the first company to produce multiple species of meat (beef, chicken, and duck) and to sell a cultivated meat product in the United States. The company believes that people shouldn’t have to choose between the foods they love and a thriving planet, and is working to build a better food system with access to delicious, humane, and sustainable meat, poultry, and seafood. 
 
UPSIDE Foods has won various industry awards, including New York Times’ Good Tech Awards, FastCo’s Next Big Thing in Tech and World Changing Ideas Awards, and the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources. UPSIDE Foods has raised a total of $608 million, including from the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Baillie Gifford, Bill Gates, Cargill, John Doerr, John Mackey, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest, Richard Branson, Softbank, Temasek, Threshold, Tyson Foods, and others.
 
About this job:
UPSIDE is growing and entering an exciting new period of its history around scale up. The chosen candidate for this Automation Engineer position will help build and run a one-of-a-kind facility on the cutting edge of the cultivated meat industry. We’re looking for someone who embraces change and a face paced environment. The Automation Engineering team handles scale up, new technology implementation, troubleshooting, and supports ongoing production at our EPIC facility. The role will be highly cross functional, dealing with scientists, supply chain, manufacturing, and other engineering departments. Within the team there will be plenty of opportunities to learn about new equipment and processes as well as grow in many different areas.
 
Responsibilities Include: 
  • Troubleshooting upstream and downstream equipment operations.
  • Provide automation support to 24x7 manufacturing operations.
  • Create new and modify existing PLC code to interface with I/O and control various pieces of Bioprocess Equipment.
  • Design and implement S88 based recipes to control plant equipment
  • Translate Pincharts into Control Modules, Equipment Modules, Phases and Recipes.
  • Modify and interpret low-voltage wiring diagrams.
  • Specify control systems for new equipment, Integrate with existing network and configure data collection.
  • Commissioning and validation of new hardware and software.
  • Lead project efforts to implement control system changes.
  • Supporting a dynamic operations team and building systems with them.
About You:
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering (chemical, electrical, mechanical, or computer science) with 7+ years of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, or industrial experience.
  • Experience with Allen-Bradley hardware and software; ControlLogix, CompactLogix, FT View, and Batch.
    • Modifying existing code and building new PLC projects.
    • Integrating multiple pieces of equipment.
    • Updating and building new HMI displays.
  • Experience with OSIsoft / AVEVA PI System software.
  • Familiar with OPC, Modbus, and BACnet Industrial Data integration protocols.
  • Experience in troubleshooting electrical control panels, and familiarity with low-voltage wiring practices.
  • Experience with managing Windows based computer systems and basic networking principles.
  • Experience with change control and change management of industrial control systems.
  • Excited to learn.
  • Enjoys fast-paced and complex environments and always striving to make processes and experiences better.
  • Comfortable working in a manufacturing environment.
Who You’ll Work With: 
  • An awesome resident Automation Team.
  • This role will partner with multiple technical teams as well as the FDA and USDA regulatory and manufacturing teams.
  • The technical teams will range from upstream development, process sciences, manufacturing sciences and technology, quality control, quality assurance, product development, and analytical research.
  • While we expect growth in all functions in the next 1-2 years, this role will most frequently interact with our R&D and Manufacturing Ops teams.
Compensation Range: $140,000 - $165,000*
*Pay may vary depending on factors including job-related knowledge and skills.
 
UPSIDE Benefits!
  • Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
  • 90-100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical [including HSA and FSA], dental, and vision)
  • Pet insurance for your furry family members!
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Company-sponsored learning & development opportunities
 
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.

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