Associate Scientist - Manufacturing Innovation

Company: Epogee is a food science and lipid chemistry company developing novel structured lipids for the food industry. Our flagship ingredient, EPG® (esterified propoxylated glycerol), is a patented fat alternative with 92% fewer calories than traditional fats. EPG can be used in a wide variety of food applications (e.g., frying and baking, as well as confectionery and snack applications). Role & Responsibilities: Epogee is looking for a motivated and innovative associate scientist to lead benchtop implementation of our manufacturing innovation. The role will be responsible for taking ideas from the fuzzy front-end ideation, validating them through a stage gating-process and ultimately making recommendations and learnings that can be translated to process improvements and innovations at scale. Example projects may include process improvements and optimizations, raw material and SKU validation, value-engineering, or novel process development. This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives while working in the lab. You’ll report to the director of R&D and have the opportunity to work closely alongside senior members of the team as you lead benchtop validation and development. Work will include using and modifying established chemical synthesis protocols, analytical measurements and, when needed, designing and building new equipment and processes to suit new specific applications. Key Responsibilities: Follow safe handling procedures for reactive and hazardous reagents and maintain lab safety compliance to contribute to a culture of safety Design and execute benchtop experiments to validate new process ideas against stage-gate criteria, from early feasibility through scale-up readiness Run and modify established synthesis protocols (e.g., esterification, propoxylation) to support new process routes, raw materials, or applications Perform analytical characterization including DSC, GC, HPLC/GPC, titration-based methods, and related techniques to evaluate process outputs against spec Design, build, or modify lab-scale equipment and fixtures for applications without an off-the-shelf solution Evaluate raw material and SKU substitutions and value-engineering opportunities, and document findings for stage-gate decisions Translate benchtop results into clear, actionable recommendations for scaling process improvements to pilot or commercial production Maintain rigorous experimental records and data suitable for internal review and technology transfer Partner with senior R&D staff and cross-functional teams to move validated concepts toward implementation Requirements BS or MS in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or a related technical field 1–3 years of hands-on laboratory, process development, or manufacturing R&D experience Experience designing and executing benchtop experiments and troubleshooting process challenges Familiarity with chemical synthesis and analytical techniques such as DSC, GC, HPLC/GPC,…