Insect Production Technician

**Changing the world - one fruit fly at a time.**

**We’re unleashing the next biorevolution.**

At Future Fields, we are continually learning and evolving. We know we don’t have all the answers, but we try to ask all the questions. We believe in “failing forward” and leveraging our mistakes to help us grow. We never want our team to feel constrained by the status quo and we don’t judge ideas based on where they come from. We actively work to foster a culture of collaboration, innovation and psychological safety through transparency, structure, and open communication. We know it sounds cliche, but every employee really is a valued and equal member of the Future Fields team.

**Come find your purpose with Future Fields.**

We are a young and rapidly growing venture backed startup (with support from awesome investors including Bee Partners, Y Combinator, Toyota Ventures and Amplify Capital). Joining our team now means you’ll have the opportunity to shape our culture and products, to lead others, and to influence the direction of our company. Perhaps most importantly - you’ll be joining a team that is genuinely energized by this work and the meaningful potential of biotech to change the world.

**About the role**

The **Insect Production Technician** plays a key role in supporting our most important asset - fruit flies Yep, you read that right. We farm fruit flies (in very well managed, sterile lab conditions). **This is a full-time, salaried position, with a 5-day work schedule (3 week days, 2 weekend days).** The key function of this role is to ensure our insect rearing operation runs smoothly so our Senior Scientists and Engineers can focus on meeting their critical milestones. This role will have varied responsibilities from fly rearing, preparing fly food, sample collection, washing dishes and data entry. This role provides many learning opportunities across a diverse set of areas and exposure to the inner workings of a biotech startup.

The Production Technician will work closely with the Production team under the supervision of our Head of Engineering. This role will attend weekly science and all-hands meetings and participate in collaborative discussions on Future Fields’ research and production strategy and business goals.

**This role will own**:
This role ultimately exists to care for and manage our fruit fly population. As such, this role will own all day-to-day tasks associated with our insect rearing operations. You will be responsible for ensuring the flies are managed in a safe and sterile way. This work is often time sensitive and requires speed and time management. Specific responsibilities include:

- Preparing fly food (from food grade ingredients). Experience in sauce/pudding making would be valuable, but not necessary. This is a time sensitive task that requires preparing multiple components in parallel to ensure consistency in food quality.
- Washing dishes from fly food prep, fly cages and all component parts. Requires the ability to adequately sanitize, but also work at an expedient pace.
- Tracking all aspects of insect rearing in a database (cages, fly strains, population mass, harvest mass, etc.) This requires basic data entry skills and to be done in a time sensitive fashion in an organized manner to ensure fly strain integrity.
- Fly tipping and cage seeding. Everyday our flies need fresh food This requires transferring the flies between cages, which is a time sensitive process that requires being very organized to ensure a smooth process flow.

**This role will assist by**:

- Helping to maintain a safe, sanitary, and clean work environment at all times.
- Monitoring fly food supply to ensure an adequate stock of ingredients is always in hand and to ensure quality.
- Monitoring and adjustment of cages for optimal breeding conditions.

**This role requires** the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritize effectively as needed. The most important attribute of this job is the ability to sequence multiple tasks in parallel, as beginning one task requires successful completion of previous ones. Time management and working at an expedient pace are critical as well as being able to effectively work with a teammate while dividing and sharing daily tasks. You exist to serve the flies and give them a good life, and their biological clocks don't wait for you

**Bonus points**
- Experience in the restaurant or food preparation industry
- Experience working with drosophila
- Knowledge of recombinant proteins
- Ability to write computer code
- A keen sense for engaging banter
- Knowledge of GMPs for food

**About you**

It’s unlikely you have experience in insect rearing, but what you lack in expertise, you make up for with your enthusiasm to learn and tackle new challenges. You are reliable and observant with a good eye for detail. You aren’t afraid to ask questions and are open to learning new things. You are excited by the opportunity to join a fas