CTO Co-founder Biotech

Looking for a CTO who gets that we're building the Calvin Klein of fungi leather.

Not the cheapest. Not the fastest.
The best
.

Most "sustainable materials" companies compete on price and virtue-signal about saving the planet. We're doing something different.

We're building Fungi Rebel
— premium mycelium-based products positioned like luxury brands position luxury. Quality-obsessed. Boldly designed. Seamlessly grown.

Think: What Calvin Klein did for underwear. What we're doing for fungi leather.

The Brutal Truth About This Role

This is NOT:

• A pure R&D position where you disappear into a lab for 3 years
• Developing entirely novel cultivation methods from scratch
• Academic research with no commercial pressure
• A role where you optimize for "good enough"

This IS:

• Building
  specific products
  from mycelium, not just selling sheets of material
• Partnering with contract manufacturers to scale from lab to 10,000+ units
• 90-day validation cycles with real customers
• Obsessing over every detail like your reputation depends on it (it does)
• Working with luxury brands (automotive, fashion) who don't settle

What We Actually Need

You've Done This Before

-
5-15
years in applied mycology or bioprocess engineering

• You've actually
  formulated mycelium composites
  for materials (not just mushrooms for eating)

• You've
  shipped products
  made from biomaterials — real things people bought

• You've worked with
  contract manufacturers
  or research institutions to scale production

• You understand how substrate composition, growth parameters, and post-processing affect the final product

You Think Like This

-
Premium beats mass market.
Always.

-
Seamless growth beats stitched-together garbage.
No compromises.

-
Quality is non-negotiable.
If it's not excellent, it doesn't ship.

-
Technology serves the brand
, not the other way around

-
Fast iteration matters more than perfect plans.
Test, learn, improve.

-
Long-term brand building beats quick exits.
This is the infinite game.

You've Lived These Situations

• Designed fast DoE cycles to optimize formulations for specific products

• Built QC protocols for bio-grown materials with natural variation

• Evaluated cultivation partners and structured technical agreements

• Translated technical capabilities into benefits that customers actually care about

• Secured non-dilutive funding (SBIR, NSF, grants)

• Said "no" to shipping something that wasn't ready

Ideal Background

You might be:

-
Former technical lead
at Ecovative, MycoWorks, or similar who's ready to take mycelium expertise and build finished products instead of selling raw materials

-
Bioprocess engineer
from fermentation/biomanufacturing who pivoted to materials

-
PhD mycologist
who left academia, went to industry, and has the scars to prove commercialization is hard

-
Materials scientist
from sustainable packaging or biocomposites with hands-on cultivation experience

What Success Looks Like (First 90 Days)

• Evaluate cultivation partners and recommend one

• Define formulation requirements for our top 3 product concepts

• Design prototype production workflow with selected partner

• Build QC framework for first units

• Apply for
  IIA Innovation Labs Program

• Establish technical credibility for investor conversations

Why This Matters

Calvin Klein didn't become iconic by accident.

They obsessed over:

• Every thread in the fabric

• Every cut in the pattern

• Every detail in the packaging

• Every brand partnership

• Consistent quality at scale

We need a CTO who will obsess over:

• Every mycelium cultivation parameter

• Every material consistency standard

• Every production quality gate

• Every seamless growth technique

• Every luxury partnership

You're not just building technology. You're building the standard.

The Culture

We value:

-
Raw honesty
over fake positivity

-
Rebellion against mediocrity
over playing it safe

-
Long-term brand building
over growth hacks

-
Showing the process
over hiding "trade secrets"

-
Customer delight
over technical perfection for its own sake

If you need to code-switch to "professional voice" around us, this isn't your place.

If you think "premium positioning" is just marketing fluff, pass.

If you want to build the cheapest sustainable materials, we're not aligned.

Let's Talk

If "Calvin Klein of fungi leather" makes sense to you — not just intellectually, but in your gut — let's have a conversation.

Drop me a message. Tell me:

1. What "Calvin Klein of fungi leather" means to you

2. One time you refused to compromise on quality

3. Why premium positioning matters (or doesn't)

No cover letters. Just real talk.

Let's build something iconic.

Andrii Gardu