TL;DR: Bryce Rogers has transitioned from mechanical engineering to the Alternative Protein sector through networking, driven by the desire for impactful work. At Edge Biotech, he is working on producing growth factors for cultivated meat. His journey reflects a blend of engineering expertise, creativity, and a commitment to sustainable food solutions.

Can you describe your professional background before you transition into the Alternative Protein sector?

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and went to undergrad for mechanical engineering in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. I graduated in 2022 and moved from LA to New York City at the beginning of 2023 to work for Edge Biotech. Edge works with mammalian cell culture, and to produce growth factors for the cultivated meat industry more affordable.

Lab-grown meat relies on expensive growth factors produced inefficiently by bacteria. We're developing a method using recombinant mammal cells, like beef cells, to produce growth factors directly, cutting down on processing costs significantly. This approach streamlines production, resembling a "smoothie" for the cells rather than the current cumbersome bacterial slurry.

Before starting at Edge, I also worked at an organization called High Impact Engineers on community-building tasks, which was part of the Effective Altruism ecosystem. It wasn't directly AltProtein but it was also one of the topics we talked about. The purpose of High Impact Engineers was to match and provide career resources for physical engineers in EA to pursue effective careers, whether that was in Alternative Proteins or something else, for example, climate-related.

What motivated you to consider a career change into Alternative Protein?

While working at High Impact Engineers, I knew I wanted to open the next chapter of my life and career. Professionally, the three things I was thinking about for my next job were development as a professional engineer, location, and positive impact. Over the course of my life, having a positive impact with my career is a much higher priority, however, since I'm so early in my career, I'm also trying to gain new skills and explore and find out what I like.

As a result of these priorities, I was primarily looking at jobs that I felt could be impactful, so I was mostly looking at climate tech and Alternative Proteins. I was searching through The Good Food Institute resources and their database. 

Can you detail the specific challenges you faced when trying to enter the Alternative Protein sector?

It was hard to find mechanical engineering jobs in New York City due to mechanical engineering being more physical and spacious in nature. And then a lot of the technical roles in Alternative Proteins are biological or chemical.

There were difficulties in looking for a job generally, and then also some difficulties that were specific to Alternative Proteins. One of them was geography since I wanted to move to New York City. But like other major urban centers, the job scene is mostly finance and software engineering, which are highly profitable businesses that don’t require a lot of space. Mechanical engineering is more physical and spacious in nature, where you might be working in a factory or manufacturing facility and they just require more space. So it was hard to find mechanical engineering jobs in New York City.

And looking specifically at Alternative Protein jobs just constrained it even more. Specific to Alternative Proteins, there are only so many jobs where I wanted to be, and then also even fewer for the experience that I had, because a lot of the technical roles in Alternative Proteins are biological or chemical. And so that added, that sort of filtered it down to even fewer potential roles.

How did network or resources help you in securing a position within the Alternative Protein industry?

Baseline familiarity with the sector was very important. Networking and going to companies brought Alternative Proteins more into my field of view. Without referrals to specific jobs, just having knowledge was helpful.

Network and resources definitely helped. Just a baseline familiarity with the sector was very important. Alternative Proteins have been on my radar for a very long time because I went vegan about seven years ago and then I also got into Effective Altruism. Once I was in EA, I started talking to people in other EA groups and going to conferences, met people who worked in the space, and other engineers, and learned about companies in the space and resources like GFI. All that brought it more into my field of view. The people I knew weren't referring me to specific jobs, but just having knowledge was helpful.

There were also more specific resources that were helpful. For example, the GFI databases, one of them being Alternative Protein companies where I found Edge. I have messaged my current boss on LinkedIn about an internship posting that they had for an engineering intern, which was only for four hours a week. But I messaged him about it and then basically moved for that and got other part-time work. But my hours gradually grew as I stayed there longer and it went from four to eight hours a week, then 15-20, and then eventually after a few months, I got a full-time position.

Can you share any notable career achievements or milestones you've reached since transitioning to the Alternative Proteins industry?

I think Edge's biggest achievement to date is producing what we set out to produce. What we’re producing is conditioned media supplemented with growth factors to sell to the cultivated meat suppliers. So our proudest milestone is that we've actually taken mammal cells, genetically modified them to produce growth factors, cultured them, separated the supernatant from the cells, and then removed the waste products and filtered it and concentrated it and then freeze-dried it. The result is a soluble powder that is like a nutrient shake plus growth factors in a concentrated powder form. And we've sent off samples of that to companies. And so we're still very small scale but I'm proud that we made that.

As someone who has successfully transitioned into the Alternative Protein industry, what advice would you give to others looking to make a similar change?

And if it’s your main goal to work in Alternative Proteins, then just get your foot into every door you can as much as possible. If you feel that your resume is not good enough yet, read and watch videos, so you can get a high level of familiarity.

If Alternative Proteins is something you’re curious about, take your time and absorb more information about It. Maybe go to a meetup, read some articles, take another job in the meantime, and focus on skilling up your career. I feel like that's the number one thing, because the more you skill up generally, the more general information you have about Alternative Proteins and the skill of your career outside of it, the more likely you are to be able to pivot in if you decide that you want to eventually.

And if it’s your main goal to work in Alternative Proteins, then just get your foot into every door you can as much as possible. If you feel that your resume is not good enough yet, read and watch videos, so you can get a high level of familiarity and then go down from there to specifics. In major urban areas, there are meet-up groups that you can go to, community events, and dinners. If you have access to these things, pursue community and meet people in person.

In what ways has your previous professional experience influenced your approach within the Alternative Protein sector?

I would say I took a more creative approach, which maybe doesn't work for all industries or all cities, but I was looking at companies first and then messaging people in the companies on LinkedIn, trying to get a foot in the door. If I found a posting highlight I would still apply for it but I would also email or LinkedIn message someone that I could get the contact info for.

What have been some of the most rewarding aspects of working in the Alternative Protein sector for you personally?

I think there are two things. One is that I get to work in something that I believe in. Getting to work on something that benefits people and animals feels amazing, it’s very motivating. The second thing that’s been rewarding is learning a lot about disciplines and industries I knew little about before. I didn't even know what a cell-culture lab looks like and now I've spent months throwing on a lab coat and sticking my hands in the hood. It's been feeling personally and professionally growthful, learning about these new disciplines.

How do you stay informed and continue to develop professionally in an industry that is constantly evolving like Alternative Proteins?

I try to stay abreast of major headlines, publications, major technical breakthroughs, and people who are direct competitors to our company. I think if you are someone really trying to break in, you should spend more time keeping up with the news. And then also major publications, especially from The Good Food Institute, the state of the industry reports, and the state of the science reports. They give you a broad impression of the developments in the industry.

Edge Biotech is open to customers and funding. If you’re interested in chatting, feel free to reach out to Bryce through his email: bryce(at)edgefoods.co.

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