Product Innovation Scientist — Function House™ (Formulation)

Who is Nulixir?

Nulixir, a nano-biotechnology start-up, is a VC-backed business-to-business (B2B) company that develops, manufactures, and licenses intellectual property (IP) for smart nanocarriers, called nanovesicles, which optimize the performance of functional ingredients in food & beverage products. Nulixir, as the Function HouseTM, is revolutionizing the functional ingredient space by introducing a realm of functionality and shaping the future of intelligent food. This patented technology (70 patents) has applications across multiple verticals in food and beverage (e.g., nootropics, energy stimulants, vitamins, probiotics, protein, etc.).

Founded in 2019, the company brought together a team of CPG leaders, cancer researchers, US attorneys, and nutritionists to overcome long-standing challenges in the Food and Beverage Industry. The firm’s founder has extensive experience in the development of nanocarriers for cancer therapeutics.

In the past-year, Nulixir sales have grown ~8x with strong interest from small, mid-size and many large CPG companies to partner with Nulixir and incorporate the technology in their products. Nulixir boasts an impressive board of senior executives from companies like Pepsi, Danone, McKinsey & Company, Paine Schwartz Partners, etc. The company currently has 30 employees with a stellar executive team who come from food B2B companies such as ADM, Givaudan, Kerry, and ex-MBB consultants.

Position Title: Product Innovation Scientist — Function House™ (Formulation)

Position Overview:

This is a builder’s role for a scientist who wants to create the next generation of functional products—the kind that becomes a category, not just a SKU.

As a Product Innovation Scientist, you will be one of the key brains behind how Nulixir turns cutting-edge ingredient technology into products consumers can feel, love, and buy again. You’ll own formulation work end-to-end: from concept and bench prototypes to pilot runs, scale-up, and commercial readiness—across beverages, concentrates, gummies, and novel formats.

You’ll operate at the intersection of chemistry/chemical engineering food science sensory process reality. Your work will directly influence products that can scale into nationwide (and global) brands—potentially reaching hundreds of millions to billions of units over time.

If you want high standards, fast iteration, real manufacturing, and the chance to shape “what the market drinks next,” this role is for you.

Position Location:

This position will be based at our HQ facilities located in the Austin, TX Metropolitan Area.

In this critically important role, you will be responsible for:

1) Formulation Innovation (Bench → Pilot → Plant)

• Design and formulate functional products with exceptional taste, texture, stability, and manufacturability.
• Rapidly prototype (bench top) and iterate based on sensory feedback, stability data, and process constraints.
• Translate formulations into production-ready specs: mixing order, shear requirements, pH targets, Brix, viscosity, hold times, thermal exposure limits, etc.
• Support scale-up and commercialization in partnership with Operations and Quality.

2) Functional Performance Ingredient Chemistry

• Engineer formulations around functional targets: onset, “experiential” feel, bioavailability, stability, and shelf-life performance.
• Deeply understand and optimize systems involving emulsions, solubilization, encapsulation, dispersions, and complex ingredient interactions.
• Build robust strategies for challenging actives (fat-soluble compounds, bitter botanicals, unstable vitamins, oxidation-prone oils, etc.).
• Select and optimize sweeteners, acids, flavors, masking systems, hydrocolloids, preservatives, and antioxidants.

3) Sensory Consumer Experience (Taste is king)

• Own taste, aroma, mouthfeel, aftertaste, and overall consumer experience—without compromising function.
• Build structured sensory workflows: tasting rubrics, blinded comparisons, iteration logs, and decision criteria.
• Collaborate with flavor houses and ingredient suppliers to push beyond “acceptable” into “craveable.”

4) Stability, Shelf-Life, and Quality-by-Design

• Design and execute stability plans (accelerated real-time) and interpret results to drive formulation changes.
• Identify failure modes early: phase separation, precipitation, color drift, flavor fade, oxidation, microbial risk, viscosity drift, foaming, etc.
• Partner with Quality to define specs, QC checkpoints, and corrective actions.
• Document formulations and results with high rigor (recipes, batch records, change logs, photos, data packages).

5) Cross-Functional Execution (Make it real)

• Work tightly with Commercial to understand customer needs and translate them into formulation requirements.
• Support customer-facing technical work when needed (sample strategy, technical calls, data summaries).
• Build tight handoffs to Operations: process instructions, critical parameters, acceptable ranges, and troubleshooting guides.

6) Systems Continuous Improvement

• Build repeatable formulation playbooks and best practices (templates, SOPs, ingredient libraries, troubleshooting maps).
• Run experiments with structure (DoE mindset) to move faster with fewer iterations.
• Contribute to the “Function House™” knowledge base—so we get better every month, not every year.

Relevant Job Experiences, Skills, and Key Requirements for this Role:

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Food Science, or a related discipline (Food Science background strongly preferred; ChemE/Chem must be genuinely hands-on with formulation).
• 2–8 years experience in formulation R&D (beverages, functional ingredients, nutraceuticals, flavors, CPG, or related).
• Strong understanding of ingredient chemistry and formulation systems: acids/bases, emulsions, solubilizers, hydrocolloids, sweeteners, flavors, preservatives.
• Demonstrated ability to translate bench formulas into scalable manufacturing processes.
• Strong experimental design, documentation, and data interpretation skills.
• Excellent communication—able to work across R&D, Ops, Quality, and Commercial with clarity and speed.
• High ownership mindset: you treat the product like it’s yours.

Nice to have:

• Experience with encapsulation, nanoemulsions, lipid systems, or bioavailability-focused formulation.
• Experience in low pH beverages, carbonation considerations, thermal processing (pasteurization), and shelf-stable systems.
• Familiarity with cGMP environments and regulated documentation practices.
• Comfort working on-site in a fast-moving pilot/manufacturing environment.

We Offer:

• A unique and diverse company culture, shaped by people with commitment, sense of responsibility, risk-taking and discipline
• An excellent start-up work environment, flat hierarchy, and short decision paths
• Competitive salary
• Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Annual Performance Bonus; and
• Stock options

Nulixirians’ Culture:

We recruit, promote, and reward based off of our five core values:

• Sleeves Up – Own your role, iterate fast, drive impact.
• 100% Transparency – Open feedback, fast learning, real collaboration.
• Be Defiantly Great – Do what others think is impossible.
• Unconditional Empathy – Respect people, listen hard, solve real problems.
• Be the solution, not just the critic – Bring options, drive closure.

If you’re excited to build category-defining functional products—and you want your science to show up in products that can scale massively—we’d love to hear from you.

Seniority Level: Mid-level (flexible based on experience)

Industry: Food & Beverage Services | Biotechnology Research | Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Employment Type: Full-time

Job Functions: R&D | Product Development | Formulation Science | Process Scale-Up

Skills: Formulation, Food Chemistry, Sensory, Stability, Emulsions, Process Development, Experimental Design, Documentation, Cross-Functional Execution