Project Manager, Factory 01

If you want to be part of an inspiring team dedicated to solving the future of food, then Solar Foods is your new home. Solar Foods is a visionary food tech start-up company that develops revolutionary fermentation-based innovations for food production. As an active player in solving the global food crisis, Solar Foods provides new solutions that secure the sustainable use of natural resources by disconnecting food production from agriculture. We have created the world’s most sustainable protein Solein®, and now we are on our way to making it the ingredient of choice for the foods of tomorrow.

To support the creation of breakthrough food science innovations and scale up our operations, we are looking for a Project Manager for a permanent role to support us in our factory construction project. We are building our first commercial production facility, Factory 01, in Vantaa, Finland and you will supervise our interests and track project activities at the construction site. The commercial production begins in the latter half of 2023 after which your daily duties shift more, e.g., towards, depending on your background and wishes, engineering and permitting process of the next, an even bigger factory project before the actual construction of it begins. You will report to Factory 01 Project Director and, if not at the construction site, you will be working at our facilities in the capital area of Finland.

• Overall day-to-day supervision of Solar Foods’ factory construction projects
• Supervision of civil engineering (also including HVAC, electricity, and automation) in cooperation with our external construction partners
• Supervision of equipment and process installations and the related logistics
• Participating in operational meetings and inspections at the construction site as well as site acceptance tests
• Ensuring that the mutually agreed milestones, deadlines and financial & technical targets are met and reporting the progress of daily matters to other stakeholders
• Solving day-to-day issues at the construction site
• Supporting the rest of the team with procurement activities
• Daily management of contractors
• Providing budget and timetable reviews

• Relevant Bachelor or Master level degree (e.g., civil engineer, construction foreman, MSc. in Technology, or similar)
• 7+ years of work experience from process or manufacturing construction industry
• Earlier experience from acting as the constructor’s representative
• Driven by Solar Foods’ mission and willingness to work in a start-up environment
• Proactive and solution-oriented
• Excellent communication and leadership skills
• Fluent in English, both verbally and in writing. Fluency in Finnish in considered an advantage.

Positive if you also have experience or knowledge of

• HVAC, construction automation or piping system design
• Environmental requirements and permitting process for factory construction and the related development projects
• Food technology project implementations

Solar Foods provides an exceptional opportunity for an eager and mission-aligned engineer to scale-up processes from pilot to commercial scale while simultaneously enabling the revolution of the entire food industry. You have a unique opportunity to be part of the factory construction projects from permitting phase to commissioning to the first Solein products being shipped to customers. You will have the freedom to execute along with the responsibility to deliver and accomplish. And naturally, you will have the most amazing colleagues to work with as well as easy-going support with minimal bureaucracy.

We would be delighted to hear from you! If you are interested in this position, please send your CV and cover letter to hakemukset@taplow.fi as soon as possible, but no later than 21 August 2022.

In case you have any questions about the post or the company, please contact Hannu Översti from Taplow Executive Search (hannu.oversti@taplow.fi, +358 50 502 3814).

Since all duties at Solar Foods require precision, reliability, independent judgement, and a good ability to react, the employer has the right to require all new employees to undergo drug tests performed by the occupational health care service provider.