Plant Biologist or Food Scientist with an interest in Agricultural Food Processing Systems

About Us

Our team at NuCicer is reinventing the chickpea with high-protein content and customized functional and nutritional properties to enable a sustainable, nutritious future. We leverage the power of natural plant diversity along with cutting edge genomic breeding technologies to develop new chickpea varieties and work with protein extraction manufacturers to produce chickpea protein ingredients.

At NuCicer we believe everyone should have access to high-quality, affordable, and nutritious protein. We also believe our food sources should contribute to sustainable solutions without compromising on quality or affordability. As our global population continues to grow, demand for protein increases along with the environmental impacts of our food system, making this an urgent and complex challenge.
 

Job Description

Applicant Information:
NuCicer is looking for a Scientist to join our R&D team.
This individual will participate in the execution of a new breeding pipeline to develop a better processing chickpea. This role will be a cross-functional position at the intersection of the Ingredients and R&D Teams involving both the development and evaluation of chickpeas with improved agronomic, sensory, and cooking and processing traits. This position will require the development and execution of assays characterizing the processability of whole chickpeas, as well as functionality assays and sensory sessions to evaluate chickpea ingredients. Results of these experiments will inform our chickpea breeding program in which the individual will also participate. This will require routine greenhouse and field work related to chickpea breeding activities such as planting, crossing, and harvesting chickpeas. If you are passionate about agriculture, food science, food security, nutrition, environmental sustainability or even just chickpeas in general, please apply!

Qualifications

Here are the qualities and characteristics that will enable a candidate to succeed in this
position:

● Educational background: BS required or obtained by June 2026. Recipients of a degree in Agronomy or Plant Sciences, or a degree in Food Science with an interest in agricultural systems are encouraged to apply. 

● Experience working in a laboratory environment, collecting, organizing, and analyzing data and experimental documentation is required.
● Experience working with spreadsheets and analytic/statistical software such as Excel or R is required.
● Experience working in a garden, greenhouse, or field preferred
● Experience in sensory evaluation preferred
● Must be a motivated individual, comfortable with working individually to organize and administer tests as directed
● Must be a collaborative team member with a growth mindset


Roles & Responsibilities

● Perform soaking and cooking tests on dry chickpeas to assess hydration and texture qualities

●Prepare chickpeas, chickpea flour, chickpea protein, and product prototype samples for functional and sensory evaluation, ensuring consistency and accuracy in sample handling and presentation

● Record and analyze data, maintain documentation within company standards
● Prepare detailed written reports to summarize findings
● Maintain equipment and follow food safety guidelines
● Ensure that all safety guidelines are followed strictly at all times
● Manage chickpea, chickpea flour and protein related material inventory
● Assist the Breeding team with germplasm development and advancement in both the greenhouse and field

● Work with cross-functional teams (Ingredients, Greenhouse, and Breeding) to ensure sensory tests align with project goals and ingredient research needs