You will work directly with the CEO and CTO to accelerate BlakBear's mission of eliminating food waste. This hybrid role spans building customer-facing software, designing hardware experiments, and writing firmware. You’ll take on immediate responsibility, solving complex R&D challenges and refining how the technology is presented to enterprise partners.
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Founder Associate at BlakBear
Join BlakBear, an Imperial College London spin-out replacing outdated "use-by" dates with gas sensors and AI to tackle global food waste. Working directly with the CEO and CTO, you'll bridge the gap between software development and hardware R&D while the company scales enterprise contracts across Europe and North America. This is a rare, high-impact role for a STEM generalist to gain founder-level experience and help define a new industry standard for food freshness.
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Location
London, United Kingdom
Compensation
£28k-£35k + Equity
Company
BlakBear
Role overview
BiotechnologyLondon, United KingdomSeed (VC-backed)
1/3 of food is wasted, but why?
Most food is still good to eat or cook at the expiry date, because the dates are chosen to cover a worst-case scenario. That’s great for quality and safety, but leads to a huge amount of waste. We believe food should tell you how fresh it is, and in 10 years the world will not be wasting food because of a fixed printed date.
We replace use-by dates and shelf-life testing with smart labels that measure spoilage gas, and AI that predicts the remaining days of freshness. We invented this technology as scientists from Imperial College London, and we're using it to improve the whole supply chain, from food producers to households, and reduce the unbelievable amounts of waste caused by the 50-year-old system of destructive testing and printed expiry dates.
We last quarter we signed enterprise deals with major food manufacturers in the UK, Canada and USA, and we are rapidly disrupting one of the industrial pillars of the world.
Backed by Ada Ventures, Remus Capital, Ponderosa Ventures, Green Circle Capital Advisors, Tom Sturgess.
What you will do
- Develop and maintain internal software tools and customer-facing interfaces using modern AI-assisted workflows like Claude and Cursor.
- Design and execute R&D experiments to test gas sensors, write firmware, and iterate on hardware prototypes for food freshness tracking.
- Translate complex technical data into visually compelling presentations and products that communicate freshness insights to global food manufacturers.
Who this is a fit for
- A STEM student or early-career professional in Engineering, Physics, or BioTech with a drive to solve hard, real-world problems.
- Proficient in using the latest AI tools for development and possessing a keen eye for both functional and aesthetic design.
- Highly adaptable generalist with a scientific mindset, comfortable working across the full stack of deep-tech development from labs to software.
Why this role is remarkable
- Work directly alongside Imperial College London scientist-founders in a high-intensity, deep-tech environment at the Tower Bridge HQ.
- Impact a global crisis by deploying technology that has shown 90%+ correlation with lab testing and is already signing enterprise deals.
- Accelerated career path toward technical leadership or entrepreneurship through direct exposure to both hardware R&D and software product scaling.
How Jack & Jill work together
I get to know what you’re great at, then find roles you’d never find yourself.Ok, I'll go first. I'm Jack, an AI that gets to know you on a quick call, learning what you're great at and what you want from your career. Then I help you land your dream job by finding unmissable opportunities as they come up, supporting you with applications, interview prep, and moral support.
I recruit from Jack’s network and make the intro when I spot a great match.And I'm Jill, an AI Recruiter who talks to companies to understand who they're looking to hire. Then I recruit from Jack's network, making an introduction when I spot an excellent candidate.
Jack gets to know what you're great at and what you want next, then searches 15 million jobs daily and helps you discover roles at companies like this.
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What happens next?
Jack’s an AI agent for job searching and career coaching. He works for you.
Jill is the AI recruiter working for the company. She recruits from Jack’s network.
If your profile’s a match and BlakBear wants to meet, Jill will make the intro. In the meantime, Jack will send you excellent alternatives.