Consulting, Business Promotion, and Innovation Communication

Helikon Consulting

Mentor 

Kate Krueger, PhD Principal Consultant, Helikon Consulting 

Background

Helikon Consulting advises innovative organizations and individuals on cutting edge food technologies that promote human health and sustainability, informing organizations on the technology and degree of commitment that each new technology requires, and how it might fit into an existing ecosystem.

Externship Description

The extern will assist the Principal Consultant in evaluating emerging technologies and performing due diligence to support specific projects in the high-tech foods/alternative proteins space. The extern should have a passion for advancements in science, translational research, nutrition, sustainability, carbon capture, climate tech, and building scientific infrastructure in an emerging field.

Specific Objectives

Depending on alignment with skills and interest, the extern(s) will work on one or more of the following projects:

• Reading through patents/scientific journals for advancements in science that are translational to food and providing a weekly summary of findings.
• Reviewing white papers related to new products under diligence – both technology background and specific application.
• Writing whitepapers on emerging technologies and state-of-the-industry.
• Conducting expert calls with key opinion leaders, attending food/scientific meetings, and writing summary reports of findings and potential actionable ideas.
• Writing reports / creating PowerPoint presentations that elucidate the importance of specific data associated with a particular project to value a potential investment opportunity for a protein or technology platform.
• Engage in business development.

Qualifications

• Candidate must be within two years of PhD graduation date; postdocs within two years of their graduation are eligible to apply.
• While the externship is unpaid, all applicants must be currently eligible for employment in the United States.
• Ideal candidate will have a disciplinary background in molecular biology, biochemistry and biophysics, (bio)chemical engineering, carbon capture, climate tech, or related fields.
• Ability to work independently and multi-task, show initiative to find answers to questions, interpret and present data, and adapt to changes are paramount.
• Candidate must possess a team-player mentality, unbiased research, challenging hypotheses/results from data when necessary, and a desire to make rational, data-driven decisions.
• Candidate must be able to identify creative and interesting foods, food trends, and food technology.
• Experience with lab work in protein interactions, enzymatic activities, process engineering, structural biology, plant biology, vascularization, or bioreactor design are preferred but not mandatory.

Before submitting an application, please visit the Externships page for instructions regarding our new application platform: myCHOICE-Symplicity.