Process Improvement Engineer

About us

Vow is a food company - a very different one. We’re creating real meat products from animal cells instead of the animal itself. We’re bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, culinary and design to make sustainable food that’s both irresistible and available to billions of people worldwide.

The role:

Are you passionate about optimising processes and systems, improving operational efficiency, and driving continuous improvement? Do you thrive on analysing operational workflows and designing strategic solutions? Join us in the Facilities team as a Process Improvement Engineer to enhance all aspects of Vow's manufacturing operations across our two Sydney sites in Alexandria.

As a Process Improvement Engineer you will:

• Oversee, coordinate, and ensure the optimisation and quality of manufacturing workflows,
• Design and drive preventative maintenance strategies, and continuous improvement initiatives across the property, plant and equipment across both of our Sydney sites, and
• Engage and implement Lean Thinking principles to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance strategic decision-making for our rapidly scaling manufacturing environment,
• Use a combination of your technical and analytical know-how, exceptional communication skills and ruthless prioritisation abilities to keep on top of it all and help us make delicious food that is safe, tastier, more nutritious, more sustainable, and ultimately more affordable than what we eat today.

Key responsibilities 

• Process Improvement & Efficiency: Analyse, design, and optimise workflows and processes to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs.
• Data-Driven Decision-Making: Utilise data analytics and performance metrics to identify inefficiencies and recommend improvements.
• Predictive Maintenance & Risk Minimisation: Develop and implement predictive maintenance strategies to improve equipment reliability and reduce downtime.

Supplier & Contractor Oversight: Manage relationships with suppliers and contractors, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and operational improvements.HACCP/GMP Compliance & Process Documentation: Drive compliance initiatives as process improvement strategies, ensuring food safety and operational excellence.Technology & Systems Implementation: Leverage digital tools, including maintenance management systems and operational dashboards, to track and continuously enhance performance.

Ultimately help to build a world-first cultured meat factory that will serve as the prototype and inspiration for all that follow!

Salary: $85000 to $95000 AUD

Required Skills & Attributes

• Technical Proficiency: You have a technical mindset; which will likely be an engineering qualification and/or at least 1-2 years of experience in an engineering role.
• Project Leadership or Multitasking ability: Experience managing process improvement initiatives and working with cross-functional teams to implement solutions.
• Lean Six Sigma: You have experience in Lean Six Sigma projects with a minimum of a Green Belt.
• Analytical & Problem-Solving Mindset: Proven ability to assess systems, identify inefficiencies, and implement strategic improvements.
• Exceptional communication: Facilitates open dialogue and seamless collaboration across teams. Combines analytical skills with clear documentation to assess workflows, evaluate procedures, and translate insights into actionable recommendations. Engages internal and external stakeholders to drive process improvements and ensure adherence to best practices.
• SOP Writing & Process Documentation: Experience in creating and improving standard operating procedures to enhance workflow efficiency.

Strongly Preferred Skills & Attributes

• Experience using a computerised maintenance management system (CMMS)
• Experience with food processing or bioprocessing equipment (e.g. mixers, fermenters, pumps, filters, centrifuges), or
• Experience with plant equipment e.g. large air compressors, specialty gasses, steam boilers, reverse osmosis systems, pumps etc.

Who we are and why join:

• We are building a diverse, mission-led dream team of “Vowzers.” Our mission is to make food products for everyone. To do that well we need a workforce that’s representative of the people we serve. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view - so we’re building a culture to match. Be yourself and come as you are.
• Work on cutting-edge technology. We’re bringing together cutting-edge innovations in science, engineering, and food, to recreate the world’s most tantalising and unique culinary experiences. All without compromising on ethics or our planet along the way. Since our inception in 2019, we have held the title of being the first startup to cultivate meat from the cells of an undomesticated animal, and have served up our exotic meats ranging from kangaroo dumplings to alpaca sliders in tastings with world-renowned chefs.
• Work with and learn from the best. Our team includes some of the world’s top scientists, innovators, operators, and creatives with decades of industry experience. Despite our experiences though, we all strive to build, break, learn, and repeat. We see the impossible as temporary and strive to learn and support our company and fellow Vowzers' growth as much as possible.
• We’re fully funded and ready to go. We are a growing Aussie biotech start-up backed by Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Grok Ventures, Tenacious Ventures, P7 Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and PeakBridge VC.

Vow perks and benefits:

• Everyone is an owner. In addition to competitive base salaries, each and every ‘Vowzer’ owns equity in the company so we can all benefit from our hard work and future success.
• Generous paid parental leave. We offer 8 weeks of paid caregiver leave and an additional 8 weeks paid leave for the birth giver.
• Generous relocation budget & support. Support for interstate or overseas team members and their families (including pets!)
• Flexible working hours and location. We value work-life balance. While we’re mostly back in the office, you’re free to choose the best way for you to work.
• Unlimited personal leave. At Vow we recognise that sometimes you need time off to recuperate, look after your mental health, or simply deal with an emergency. We put unlimited personal leave in place to empower you to truly bring your best self to work every single day and you are always paid for days taken off as personal leave.
• Heaps of tasty samples from our culinary centre. Our fantastic "food inventors" on the Vow team are always cooking up new product prototypes, and all Vowzers are given the opportunity to taste, give feedback, and learn from their culinary prowess.
• An awesome converted warehouse “campus” in Alexandria. Complete with a glass-walled lab, manufacturing line, free snacks, a culinary centre, and professional-grade coffee machine in our cafe, as well as a DIY workshop for all hands-on projects.
• Human and dog friendly office! An inclusive community and culture, in a welcoming office, complete with friendly “Vowzer” dogs!
• A variety of social clubs. We encourage all our Vowzers to build the culture with us and share what you love by creating social clubs across the business. From book clubs to hiking groups, we’re always looking for ways to learn and engage with our team.