Chief Scientific Officer & Co-Founder

Portland, OR, United States

Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer

A Founding Role for a Scientific Leader Who Wants to Own the Science and Help Build the Company

About Terra35

Terra35 Biosystems Limited is an Irish-incorporated deep-tech biotechnology company growing bio-identical vanilla through plant cell culture. Our closed-loop bioreactor system performs both the growing and the curing of vanilla within a single continuous process, replacing the long agricultural cultivation step and the manual 3-6 months post-harvest cure that together define the conventional vanilla supply chain. Our model also enables regional supply for regional demand, which shortens the chain from producer to customer.

Terra35 is an impact company. Relieving the pressure that food production places on the planet is foundational to what we do, it is the reason the company exists. Conventional vanilla depends on land conversion, long and fragile supply chains, and a post-harvest cure measured in months, and our process is designed to replace that footprint with a resilient and dramatically lower-impact alternative. We measure every ingredient we bring to market against that standard, and our work maps directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for industry, innovation and infrastructure (9), responsible consumption and production (12), climate action (13), and life on land (15).

Our mission is to build resilient, scalable and geographically flexible production of high-value natural ingredients that carries a dramatically lower environmental impact than conventional agricultural supply chains. We operate a business-to-business ingredient model that serves consumer packaged goods manufacturers and flavor houses, and we treat vanilla as our entry point into a broader ingredient platform.

We have stabilized a vanilla plant cell suspension at Technology Readiness Level 4, and we are now advancing flavor and aroma optimization with our research partners. We work through active research and development partnerships in Europe, we have been selected for both MassChallenge Switzerland 2026 and the EIT Food Accelerator Network in Munich, and we have secured our first angel investment as we open our next funding round. Terra35 was co-founded by Meagan Gleason and Tanya Thornton, and the company is now entering the phase where a dedicated scientific leader will shape the next stage of the platform.

The Opportunity

Terra35 is looking for a Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer to join the founding team as a full peer and to own the science of the company from the ground up. This is a founding role. You will hold founding equity, you will take a seat at the founding table, and you will help set the direction of the company alongside your fellow Co-Founders.

Aligning to Terra35’s strategic vision, as a Co-Founder you own the science and the strategy around it. You will own scientific vision, the technical roadmap, development priorities, scientific standards and the oversight of scientific partners are yours to set, direct and defend. You will build the science function from its earliest stage and lead it as its accountable owner.

You will work alongside your fellow Co-Founders on company strategy, fundraising, governance, partnerships and long-term direction, and you will represent Terra35 with investors, scientific partners, strategic collaborators and the wider scientific community. As with every founder, the decisions that commit the company operate through the founding team's shared governance as equals, and the specifics are set out in our founders' agreement rather than defined by role.

Terra35 currently operates through a network of external scientific and development partners, and we expect to build increasingly integrated development and production capability over time. You will lead the scientific foundations that support that evolution as the accountable owner of the science. This role combines founding-level ownership, scientific leadership, strategic judgment and external representation in an early-stage, founder-led environment.

Key Responsibilities

Scientific Strategy and Platform Development

You will own the scientific vision, strategy and roadmap for the Terra35 platform.
You will define scientific priorities, development pathways and the milestones that measure progress.
You will decide which scientific questions the company pursues and how scientific resources are allocated.
You will guide the platform from discovery through to product substantiation.
You will identify the scientific, technical and innovation opportunities that strengthen long-term platform value, and you will assess each one for feasibility, development pathway, technical risk and strategic fit.
Scientific Partnerships and Team Leadership
You will own the scientific oversight of external development partners, research organizations and collaborators, and you will ensure that their work stays aligned with company priorities and milestones.
You will cultivate, chair and lead the company's scientific advisory board, and you will recruit the senior advisors who provide external validation and access to specialized research capability.
You will build and lead the Terra35 scientific organization over time, recruiting the scientific talent and collaborators that the platform requires.
You will establish a culture of scientific rigor, curiosity and excellence.
Scientific Representation
You will serve as the senior scientific voice of the company with investors, customers, regulators, strategic partners and the wider scientific community.
You will participate actively in investor engagements, including pitch meetings, scientific diligence sessions and roadshow activity during fundraising.
You will contribute scientific perspective to external communications and to how Terra35 positions itself across investor, customer and market-facing audiences.
You will build the scientific reputation and thought leadership of the company.
Intellectual Property and Regulatory Science
You will lead the scientific input into intellectual property strategy and scientific defensibility.
You will support patent strategy, freedom-to-operate assessments and invention development.
You will provide the scientific leadership that underpins regulatory pathways and product substantiation.
You will ensure that scientific evidence and data packages meet the applicable regulatory requirements.

Founding Responsibilities

You will act as a Co-Founder of Terra35, contributing to overall company strategy, governance, financing, culture and long-term direction alongside the founding team.
You will support fundraising and diligence as a principal member of the founding team rather than as a supporting technical voice.
You will help define the standards, operating culture and long-term ambition of the company from its earliest stage.
You will bring scientific conviction, commercial judgment and founder-level accountability to the next phase of the company.

Who We Are Looking For

Required

You hold a PhD in plant biology, plant biotechnology, plant cell culture, synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, bioprocess development or a closely related discipline.
You have significant experience leading scientific programs within biotechnology, food technology, agricultural technology, specialty ingredients or a related industry.
You have translated scientific innovation into commercially relevant outcomes.
You have managed complex external research or development partnerships.
You communicate clearly and can engage scientific, commercial and investor audiences with equal confidence.

Preferred

You bring direct experience in plant cell culture or plant-based production systems.
You have worked with fermentation, cell cultivation, scale-up or process development.
You have held executive leadership roles in an early-stage or growth-stage company.
You have supported fundraising and investor diligence.
You have cultivated and chaired a scientific advisory board.

Founder Mindset

You want to build a company rather than simply join one, and you are motivated by ownership and mission ahead of title.
You are comfortable with the ambiguity, pace and personal risk that define an early-stage venture.
You are ready to commit at a founding level and to stand behind the science as its accountable owner.

What Success Looks Like

Within your first 12 to 18 months, you will have established a compelling scientific vision and roadmap as a member of the Founding team, identified the key scientific risks and set a disciplined plan to mitigate them, increased investor and stakeholder confidence in the scientific direction of the company, and strengthened the oversight of external scientific partners. You will have advanced the platform toward its key technical milestones, built a strong Scientific Advisory Board with a functioning rhythm that contributes meaningfully to the roadmap and to risk mitigation, and laid the foundation for a high-performing scientific organization.

Founding Terms

Equity: This is a founding role and it carries meaningful founding equity, set through direct conversation and commensurate with your founding contribution. Founding equity vests on standard founder terms, typically a four-year schedule with a one-year cliff, and the detail is set out in our founders' agreement.

Compensation: Compensation is initially equity-based and is expected to transition to salary following financing and as company budget allows, with the overall package commensurate with experience and founding contribution.

Standing: You join as a Co-Founder with genuine ownership, real influence and an equal seat at the founding table.

Location: Flexible. Terra35 is Irish-incorporated and works with partners across Europe. The role will require availability for investor, partner and team engagement across the relevant time zones.