Job Title

THE PROBLEM WE'RE SOLVINGEvery year, nearly 40% of fresh produce harvested in India never reaches the consumer. It rots in transit, in storage, on the shelf. The food system bleeds billions - and millions go hungry - not because we grew too little, but because we couldn't keep it fresh long enough.We're a founding team building a post-harvest technology company to fix this. Our focus: ethylene management and shelf-life extension for fresh produce. We're early, ambitious, and moving fast. We know exactly what we want to build - but we need the scientist who knows how to build it.THE ROLEYou will be our first scientific hire - the technical spine of this company. You won't be joining a team to run predefined experiments. You'll be designing the technology roadmap, setting up our early lab capability, running feasibility trials, and translating post-harvest science into a real, scalable product.This is not a research position. This is a builder position. You will go from bench to field to customer conversations, and you'll thrive doing all three.WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY DOEvaluate and shortlist the most viable ethylene management technology approach for our target crops and markets (1-MCP, biological scavengers, coatings, or novel combinations)Design and run early-stage shelf-life extension trials — from protocol design to data interpretationBuild and maintain our IP strategy: identify white spaces, assess freedom-to-operate, and contribute to patent filingsWork directly with pack houses, FPOs, and exporters to run field trials and gather real-world produce dataNavigate FSSAI and regulatory pathways for product approvalsBe a thought partner to the founding team on product positioning, investor conversations, and technology storytellingWHO YOU ARE — NON-NEGOTIABLESEducationPhD in Post-Harvest Physiology, Horticulture, Food Science, or Plant Biology from IARI, NIFTEM, PAU, UAS Bangalore, MPKV Rahuri, or equivalentAlternatively: M.Sc. in the above fields with 6+ years of highly relevant, hands-on industry experienceTechnical SkillsHands-on experience with ethylene measurement (GC-based headspace analysis) or direct work with ethylene inhibitors / scavengersDesigned and executed shelf-life extension studies on climacteric fresh produce (mangoes, bananas, tomatoes, or similar)Deep working knowledge of post-harvest treatment protocols: CA/MA storage, wax or edible coatings, heat treatments, or chemical applicationsExperience3–8 years in a post-harvest R&D role — academia, industry, or bothHas worked at or with agri-input / cold chain / post-harvest companies (AgroFresh, Decco, Jain Irrigation, WayCool, FieldFresh, or similar) OR published research in peer-reviewed post-harvest journalsComfortable working with farmers, pack house operators, or produce exporters - not just in a labWHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUTYou've filed or co-authored a patent in post-harvest treatments or coatingsYou have familiarity with FSSAI regulatory pathways for food-contact or post-harvest substancesYou've worked with edible coatings, bioactive formulations, or active packaging systemsYou already have an opinion on which technology approach is most commercially viable in India — and you can defend itTHE MINDSET WE'RE HIRING FORWe need a scientist who is also a builder. Someone who gets uncomfortable when their work stays in a paper and excited when it hits a pack house. Someone who can wear five hats before lunch and still run a rigorous trial in the afternoon.You move fast without cutting corners on scienceYou're energized by ambiguity, not paralyzed by itYou care about the impact - less food waste, more food security - and it shows in how you workYou want equity and ownership, not just a salary and a designation