Assistant R&D Chef - DTU Biosustain

Are you passionate about food and flavour? Eager to help tackle some of our most pressing global challenges? Excited by the idea of working and learning at the intersection of science, cooking, sustainability, and food culture in a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research environment? Then join us as our new Assistant Research & Development Chef!

The Sustainable Food Innovation Group (SFI) was founded in 2021 to address interconnected food systems challenges—diminishing diversity, inequitable production and distribution, knowledge privatisation, nutritional depletion, blandness—through interdisciplinary research, product development, and knowledge-sharing. Much of our work revolves around our Food Lab: a hybrid space between kitchen and laboratory where we do applied food research and develop products through fermentation, upcycling, and umamification to stimulate the green transition across academia, industry, and wider society. Use of the Food Lab has been growing at our Center, including more and more members from beyond our group. As we develop the Food Lab into a truly Center-wide facility, we need an Assistant R&D Chef to support our R&D Chef in daily operations, training new users, and R&D. You will play a crucial role in supporting all Food Lab users on a day-to-day basis to unlock the space’s and their projects’ full potential.

The job
As SFI’s Assistant R&D Chef you will:

• Assist the R&D Chef in daily Food Lab operations: maintenance, procurement, cleaning, etc.
• Train new and ongoing users in Food Lab best practices, basic culinary skills, and safe and effective usage of specialised equipment
• Support the R&D Chef and other users of the Food Lab with their respective R&D projects around fermentation, upcycling, and umamification for the green transition
• Depending on these other tasks, there may also be space for the Assistant R&D Chef to pursue their own R&D activities, supervised by the R&D Chef

What we’re looking for
You will have at least five years of experience working in professional kitchens. Professional culinary training is an asset, but not a must. Please elaborate on your educational background and experience in your cover letter.

You will also have excellent communication, organisational, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. The role will be a lot about relating to, helping, and training people, most of whom will not have any experience in professional kitchens. So patience, grace, and clear communication skills will be key assets.

You will enjoy learning and thrive taking initiative for your own learning process.

Excellent communication skills in both spoken and written English is mandatory. Knowing some Danish is a plus but not mandatory.

You will have basic IT literacy, eg. with Excel, online ordering systems, etc.

Ideally you will also:

• have experience in culinary R&D and/or fine dining
• have basic knowledge about food science, food microbiology, fermentation, food systems and sustainability issues
• have some experience making fermentations, traditional and/or novel
• be able to work with others and independently, and to initiate their own learning
• be comfortable in an interdisciplinary environment, where different types of knowledge co-exist
• be patient, charitable, curious and playful—key qualities for interdisciplinary work

Any academic experience and/or familiarity with academic work and environments will be an asset, but is not required.

What we offer in return
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer an engaging and rewarding job in an international, cutting-edge research environment. We place great emphasis on personal and professional development, so there will be ample opportunities for skills development and continuing education as part of the position, according to your career goals.

Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) or organizational agreement between the Ministry of Taxation, CO10, 3F and the Food & Nutrition Association or other relevant agreement.

The salary will be assessed according to your level of experience and will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The position is full-time and is based at DTU’s Lyngby campus.

The starting date is from 1 December 2024 or according to mutual agreement with the Group Leader.

The position lasts until 31 December 2025.

Application and contact
Please submit your online application no later than 15 September 2024 (23:59 Danish time).  Open the “Apply now” link, fill out the form and attach the following materials:

• Cover letter
• CV
• Any vocational and/or academic diplomas (if applicable)
• Any degree transcripts (if applicable)
• One professional letter of reference, with referee’s contact information

For additional information about the position, please contact Group Leader Joshua Evans at [email protected]

You can read more about DTU Biosustain at www.biosustain.dtu.dk 

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

Interviews for selected candidates will be held in September.

Sustainable Food Innovation Group (SFI)
The Sustainable Food Innovation Group uses culinary research & development to make flavourful sustainable foods, open scientific research to study how they work, and social science and artistic practice to understand and experiment with how they can fit into food culture. We develop products for implementation and as interventions that can help better understand food systems problems—encouraging thinking about edibility, food diversity, and flavour in more complex, just, ecologically resonant ways.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain)
Recent progress in our ability to read and write genomic code, combined with advances in automation, analytics and data science, has fundamentally changed the scope and ambition of harnessing the potential of biological systems. Big data approaches and analysis of biological systems are key research instruments at the Center. DTU Biosustain utilizes these advances for microbial cell factory design to foster sustainable lifestyles in relation to three application areas: Sustainable Chemicals, Natural Products, and Microbial Foods.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.