Food Application Scientist

About us

The Bland Company is a foodtech and biotech startup on a mission to make sustainable eating easy, affordable, and accessible for everyone.

We develop high-performance protein ingredients by transforming overlooked agricultural by-products into highly functional, clean-label proteins enabling food companies to create more sustainable, better-performing, and cost-effective products.

Were a team of 6 and are backed by US leading VC funds. Our founders are biochemists and biochemical engineers with track-record of developing next-gen food.

The Role

Were looking for a hands-on, creative, and technically sharp Food Application Scientist to join our growing team. Youll be the bridge between our ingredient innovation and the foods they go into rapidly prototyping, testing, and iterating on formulations to showcase and improve our products.

This is a full-time role combining applied culinary skills, food science, and ingredient functionality testing perfect for someone who thrives in fast-paced environments.

Youll also work closely with our founding team to identify the most valuable food categories to go after running early formulations for strategic client use-cases, and supporting pilots with partners.

Key Responsibilities:

Develop ingredient characterization data (e.g. solubility, emulsification, foaming, gelation) and translate into practical formulation insights

Develop and optimize food formulations using our novel protein ingredients across a range of applications (e.g. bakery, snacks, condiments, etc.)

Work directly on formulations for client-targeted use cases helping validate functionality in real-world scenarios

Rapidly prototype and iterate on recipes based on functional goals

Conduct bench-scale trials and sensory testing; help design experiments to compare against commercial benchmarks

Help prioritize and identify the highest-potential food categories to target based on formulation performance and market fit

Maintain detailed records of formulations, results, and observations; contribute to technical data sheets and customer-facing documentation

Collaborate closely with our scientists and founders to give feedback on ingredient development and usability

Requirements:

5+ years of relevant industry experience in food ingredient characterisation and formulation development, especially working with proteins, hydrocolloids, or emulsifiers

Degree in Food Science, Food Chemistry, Culinary Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience in R&D kitchens or labs)

Strong understanding of food systems and ingredient functionality

Skilled in rapid prototyping and creative problem-solving

Comfort with both the scientific and culinary aspects of R&D you can handle a pH meter and a spatula equally well

Bonus: experience with alternative proteins, clean label formulation, or upcycled ingredients

Bonus: exposure to B2B ingredient applications or working with food manufacturing clients

Bonus: formulation experience in bakery sector

Mumbai-based & Full-Time

What Youll Get:

A front-row seat in building the next generation of sustainable ingredients

Access to global network of advisors and collaborators

Fast learning, high ownership, and the chance to see your work in products that hit the market

Competitive compensation