Who are we?
Lyka is an Australian founded pet wellness company that’s shaking up an outdated industry and paving the way for happier, healthier pets.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 almost 30 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 200+ pet-obsessed 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.
To date, we have raised over $60M in funding from venture capital investors and pet industry insiders, who believe in our mission and ability to drive change in a stagnant industry, providing nutrition that nourishes puppers from the inside out.
Are you ready to shake things up and give pets the life they deserve? Come join our pack!
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 double the average lifespan of dogs and cats by 2050.
The Opportunity
Lyka is growing quickly, and no two weeks are the same. We’re looking for a rock star Food Technologist to join our business at a pivotal moment as we look to scale our customer base, expand our product offering and take our business to new heights. You will be working within the Research & Development team to ensure robust commercialisation of new products and enhancement of existing products. This position will be a vital role in driving all technical aspects of the products to deliver an ambitious product roadmap.
You will be part of our high performing and ambitious team and face diverse challenges on the job. If you work well under pressure and want a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow your professional skills this role is for you.
Key Responsibilities
- Supporting product development projects and provide full lifecycle services from product conception to launch;
- Researching market and competitors to assist with development of product strategies;
- Leading the formulation, trial, scale-up, and commissioning activities necessary to ensure product quality and performance;
- Researching innovative manufacturing technologies and ingredients for new product launches;
- Defining manufacturing equipment specifications and requirements from product-led perspective;
- Organising and executing product development commercialisation. This may include conducting palatability and digestibility trials, chemistry analysis and interpreting food regulations;
- Providing nutritional information, relevant product labels, artwork approval, and other related NPD content;
- Contributing to project planning from initiation to implementation;
- Managing selection, proposal management and delivery of external stakeholders required in project delivery to cost, time and quality expectations;
- Working closely with the leadership and teams at Lyka (including Marketing, Technology, Operations);
- Reporting on project pipeline and activities.
- Working rights in Australia
- Degree in Food Science/Technology or related field
- 1+ year experience in relevant experience in relevant Food Technology, Product Development or R&D
- Working understanding of Australian Food Regulations is beneficial
- Innovative mindset to contribute ideas and solutions ahead of the market
- Experienced in the application of food regulations, food legislation and
- Top-notch program delivery skills and the ability to coordinate and execute on cross-functional collaborations to launch a new product
- Sound experience in engaging effectively and working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders to drive outcomes
- Strong interpersonal skills including oral & written communication skills, and presentation skills to coordinate and run workshops
- Strong ability to liaise, influence, challenge effectively and build relationships at all levels
- Highly organised with strong project management ability - able to drive outcomes while juggling competing demands
- Ability to work under pressure and in ambiguous environment
- Self-motivated and driven individual
- Proactive with a positive, flexible, assertive, can-do attitude
- Organised with excellent time management skills
- Resilient, high sense of ownership and comfortable with fast pace and ambiguity
- Ability to work effectively and collaboratively as part of a project team
- Must love dogs!
- 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.
- 12 weeks of paid parental leave for primary and secondary carers, along side 2 weeks of miscarriage leave in the first twenty weeks. We also offer 18 paid weeks to both primary and secondary carers if you have been at Lyka for over two years.
- Wellbeing assistance & tools to take care of your mental and physical wellbeing so you can do your best work.
- Flexible working: work from where you get your best work done. We have pet-friendly offices and industrial kitchens in Sydney and Melbourne. Onsite days are required for the beginning.
- 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.
