Food Scientist (Part-time, Equity only)

Food Scientist – Kefilo
Position: Food Scientist – R&D & Product Development
Company: Kefilo
Type: Equity-Only | Founding Team
Commitment: Part-time, 20–25 hours/week
Work Mode: Remote / Hybrid
Compensation: Equity-based; no fixed salary at the current stage
About Kefilo
Kefilo is building a human transformation ecosystem focused on functional nutrition, preventive wellness, gut health, fitness and lifestyle redesign.
We are building beyond a traditional food-delivery model, combining personalised nutrition, healthy food products, 90-day transformation programs, technology-enabled customer engagement and scalable food-production infrastructure.
We are looking for a Food Scientist who can take ownership of food R&D, product formulation, standardisation and development of scalable functional food products.
Key Responsibilities
Lead R&D for the development of nutritious, functional and commercially viable food products.
Develop and optimise recipes with precise ingredients, quantities, nutritional specifications, portions and preparation methods.
Develop functional food products focused on areas such as high protein, high fibre, gut health, balanced nutrition and preventive wellness.
Analyse nutritional composition and establish clear nutritional specifications for products.
Conduct product trials, sensory evaluations and formulation experiments to improve taste, texture, nutrition and consumer acceptance.
Work closely with nutritionists to ensure products align with specific nutritional and transformation objectives.
Standardise recipes and production processes so products can be consistently manufactured at scale.
Research new ingredients, functional ingredients, food technologies and processing methods that can improve Kefilo's product portfolio.
Develop formulations and processes that can move efficiently from small-batch R&D to commercial-scale production.
Work with the Cloud Kitchen and Kitchen R&D teams to ensure products are practical, efficient and scalable to manufacture.
Support shelf-life studies, packaging, storage, food safety and quality-control requirements.
Prepare product formulation sheets, specifications, testing reports, SOPs and other technical documentation.
Continuously improve products based on nutrition, taste, cost, production efficiency, shelf life and customer feedback.
Build and manage a structured product innovation pipeline for Kefilo.
Work with the founding team to identify opportunities for new functional foods, beverages, snacks, meals and other nutrition-focused products.
Ideal Candidate
Degree or postgraduate qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Food Engineering, Nutrition, Biotechnology or a related field.
Strong experience in food R&D, product development, formulation or functional foods.
Understanding of food chemistry, food processing, nutritional composition and product standardisation.
Experience with recipe formulation, product trials and sensory evaluation.
Knowledge of food safety, shelf life, packaging and quality-control processes.
Experience developing products for commercial-scale production is highly preferred.
Strong research and experimentation skills.
Ability to balance nutrition, taste, cost, scalability and consumer acceptance.
Comfortable working with nutritionists, kitchen teams, operations and technology teams.
Entrepreneurial mindset and willingness to take ownership in an early-stage company.
Key Outcome
The primary objective of this role is to help Kefilo build a strong functional food R&D and product innovation engine that can develop nutritionally meaningful, great-tasting, standardised and commercially scalable products.
What You Get
Equity participation in Kefilo.
Opportunity to become part of the founding team.
Ownership of the food R&D and product development vertical.
Opportunity to build innovative functional food products from the early stage.
Direct collaboration with nutritionists, kitchen experts, data scientists, product teams and founders.
Opportunity to contribute to Kefilo's long-term NutritionTech and food innovation ecosystem.
Potential to lead the food science and product R&D function as Kefilo scales.
Compensation
This is an equity-only founding team opportunity with no fixed salary at the current stage.
Equity will be structured based on expertise, contribution, responsibility and long-term commitment, subject to a formal agreement.
If you are primarily looking for a fixed-salary position, this opportunity may not be suitable at the current stage.
Skills: nutrition,technology,formulation,r&d operations

Work arrangement
No