Senior Food Scientist

Lyka is an Australian founded pet wellness company that’s shaking up an outdated industry and paving the way for happier, healthier pets. Despite medical advancements, animal lifespans are on the decline. Today, the average pet only reaches 37% of their full potential lifespan and statistics have shown us that many suffer from dental disease, cancer, and obesity. Simply put, the status quo is not enough.

As humans, we’ve experienced firsthand the positive impact fresh wholefoods can have on our health and wellbeing, and we believe our furry friends deserve the same. We're on a mission to do just that, starting with nutritionally balanced, wholefood meals delivered direct to doors around Australia. As the world’s most sustainable pet wellness company, we’re putting pets and our planet first - one bowl at a time.

Today, we are proud to share we’ve served over 100 million meals to puppers and their parents across Australia, and this is just the beginning. Our vision is to create multiple nutritional products, adding disease prevention meals and supplements, and expand into new markets.

Currently, we have a team of 250+ pet-obsessed people, and we're continuing to grow (yes, looking at you!). These carefully selected people are dedicated to building the next generation of technology and products to help empower pet parents to take control over their pet’s wellbeing.

Our Mission

The time we share with our pets is being cut short. Despite medical advancements, they’re getting sicker earlier. They’re dying prematurely. The industry has it backwards - prioritising treating symptoms instead of addressing the root cause. That’s where we come in.

At Lyka, we take a preventative, holistic and personalised approach to pet care. We look at the full picture, factoring in the diet, lifestyle and environment of each individual animal.

We don’t stop at symptoms, instead we dig for the root cause. We create nutrition plans unique to each pet, because it’s not just about living longer, but living well too.

Our mission is to increase the lifespan of dogs and cats.

The Role

At Lyka, we’re reimagining pet food to help dogs live their healthiest, happiest lives. As our Senior Food Scientist, you’ll lead the development and optimisation of new and existing formulations, from hands-on bench trials through to full-scale manufacturing.

You’ll bring new product lines to life in new markets by balancing customer needs, nutrition, cost, product quality, and operational feasibility. Working across Food Technology, Marketing, Procurement, QA, Manufacturing, and CAPEX, you’ll manage the full product-development lifecycle and keep stakeholders aligned.

What you’ll do:

• Lead formulation and reformulation projects for existing and new recipes, assessing nutritional, safety, sensory, and functional impacts of ingredient or process changes
• Conduct and document risk assessments for recipe changes (ingredient swaps, substitutions, ratio adjustments), including allergen, nutritional adequacy, and shelf-life implications
• Manage the new products from concept through to commercialisation, including trial planning, sensory evaluation, and scale-up support
• Own and maintain accurate formulation documentation, specifications, and version control across the recipe portfolio
• Work closely with Operations to troubleshoot formulation-related issues on the production floor and support process optimisation
• Partner with Manufacturing and CAPEX teams to define equipment specifications, process standards, and SOPs that deliver consistent results
• Support supplier and ingredient qualification, including evaluating new ingredients for functional and regulatory fit
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior food technologists
• Contribute to continuous improvement of formulation processes, documentation practices, and cross-functional workflows
• Stay current on pet food industry trends, ingredient innovation, and regulatory developments

Requirements

• A degree in Food Science, Food Technology, or a related field.
• More than 3 years of hands-on product development experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical projects or teams.
• A proven track record of taking evergreen products from concept to commercialisation, ideally in pet food, human food, or the meat industry.
• Deep knowledge of food processing, ingredient functionality, and nutritional formulation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with confidence making data-informed decisions.
• Proven leadership and mentoring capability, with experience building high-performing teams.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to translate between science, operations, and business.
• An independent, proactive, and solutions-focused working style.
• A passion for innovation, continuous improvement, and products that improve pet health and wellbeing.
• Work in a fast-growing start-up, experiencing what goes behind the scenes to sustain hyper-growth for a start-up with a physical product!
• Growth and Development - Lyka is growing extremely quickly, which means you will have the opportunity to experience different challenges every day and progressively acquire more responsibilities as our facility and team expands. We provide an annual L&D budget for you to continue your personal development.
• Work for a sustainability focused company - we care about the health of our dogs and our planet. We’re proud to be Australia’s only carbon-negative and plastic-negative pet company and we’re always looking at ways for us improve sustainability practices.
• Be part of a diverse top talent team, coming from widely different backgrounds and geographies.
• Up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave top‑up.
• Wellbeing assistance and tools to take care of your mental and physical wellbeing so you can do your best work.
• Hybrid working - 3 days per week in office. We have pet-friendly offices and industrial kitchens in Sydney and Melbourne. Onsite days are required during your onboarding.
• Pupper parent support to care for your furry friends - flexible arrangements for new pets, pet-friendly offices, discounts, and financial allowance for dog training & care to help them live their best life!

We are committed to building inclusive and diverse teams

Lyka is an equal opportunity employer devoted to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion.

We celebrate diversity, are devoted to creating an inclusive environment for all staff and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application.

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