Head of Research And Development

About us

The Bland Company is a food and biotech startup that produces cost-efficient, highly functional ingredients by transforming overlooked agricultural by-products using novel biochemical processes.

Our flagship solutions are clean-label proteins designed to help leading food brands reduce their dependence on egg-derived ingredients—without compromising functionality. We’re already in trials with several large CPGs and are backed by top-tier investors and industry advisors. Our founding team is composed of biochemists and biochemical engineers with a track-record of developing next-gen ingredients and a mission to transform the food system.

The Role

We are seeking a strategic, hands-on, technically exceptional Head of R&D to lead scientific innovation and scale manufacturing. You'll drive the development of our novel protein ingredients — from lab-scale to real-world application.

You’ll manage a growing team of scientists and application experts working on protein chemistry, scale-up, and formulation science. This is a unique opportunity to define the technical DNA of a high-impact company shaping the future of sustainable food.

Key Responsibilities :

• Lead R&D across core areas : protein chemistry, process optimisation, and application science
• Translate business goals into clear technical objectives and deliverables
• Define and execute our R&D roadmap — from platform refinement to client-facing application validation
• Identify and evaluate emerging scientific methods and technologies to accelerate progress
• Recruit, manage, and mentor a multidisciplinary team
• Oversee experimental design, data analysis, and documentation
• Collaborate with the founding team on IP strategy, regulatory planning (e.g. GRAS), and grant / scientific communication
• Support scale-up and transfer of R&D to manufacturing environment
• Coordinate with external partners (labs, CROs, academic collaborators, suppliers)
• Contribute to strategic decisions around which food categories and use cases to prioritize, based on ingredient performance and customer feedback
• Oversee the development and management of a world-class laboratory

Requirements :

What You’ll Get :