R&D Facilitator

RD Facilitator - Kefilo

Position: RD Facilitator
Company: Kefilo
Type: Equity-Based | Part-Time
Commitment: 20-25 hours/week
Work Mode: Remote / Hybrid

About Kefilo

Kefilo is building a human transformation ecosystem focused on functional nutrition, preventive wellness, gut health, fitness and lifestyle redesign.

We are developing personalised nutrition programs, functional food products, 90-day transformation programs and scalable food-production systems.

We are looking for an RD Facilitator who can build and leverage a strong pan-India RD and innovation network to accelerate Kefilos product development, research, testing and access to innovation resources.

Key Responsibilities

• RD Network Development - Build and maintain a diverse network of food RD laboratories, universities, research institutes, food technology centres, researchers, scientists, incubators and innovation organisations across India.

• Laboratory Testing Access - Identify and facilitate access to specialised labs for food formulation, nutritional analysis, microbiological testing, shelf-life studies, food safety, packaging and product validation.

• Innovation Schemes Grants - Identify relevant central and state government schemes, grants, subsidies, innovation programs, RD funding opportunities and technical support available to food-tech and nutrition startups.

• Institutional Partnerships - Establish and facilitate collaborations with universities, research institutions, laboratories, incubators and technology centres for joint RD, product development, testing and validation.

• Technology Research Discovery - Continuously identify emerging food technologies, functional ingredients, processing technologies, packaging solutions, automation and other innovations relevant to Kefilo.

• RD Requirement Mapping - Understand Kefilos product and technology requirements and connect each requirement with suitable laboratories, researchers, institutions, technologies or funding opportunities.

• Government Innovation Ecosystem - Build relationships with relevant government departments, innovation missions, incubators, accelerators and scheme administrators to identify opportunities for Kefilo.

• RD Project Facilitation - Help move projects from initial research requirements to institutional discussions, proposals, testing, validation, pilot projects and implementation.

• RD Intelligence Database - Build a structured database of laboratories, research institutions, scientists, technologies, schemes, grants, incubators and partnership opportunities across India.

• Strategic RD Support - Work closely with Kefilos Food Scientist, Nutritionists, Kitchen RD and founding team to identify and execute high-value RD opportunities.

Ideal Candidate

• Experience in RD, food technology, innovation, research institutions, technology transfer, academia-industry collaboration or a related field.

• Strong understanding of Indias RD and innovation ecosystem.

• Must have a diverse and active network across RD labs, universities, research institutes, food technology centres and innovation organisations in India.

• Knowledge of government RD grants, startup schemes, subsidies and innovation programs is highly preferred.

• Strong relationship-building and communication skills.

• Ability to independently identify opportunities and convert them into actual collaborations.

• Experience facilitating institutional partnerships, research projects, grants or technology development will be an advantage.

• Strong research, networking and execution capabilities.

• Entrepreneurial mindset and willingness to work closely with an early-stage founding team.

What You Get

• Equity participation in Kefilo.

• Opportunity to become part of the founding RD and innovation team.

• Opportunity to build a national RD and innovation network for Kefilo.

• Direct involvement in functional food, nutrition and food-tech product development.

• Opportunity to work with scientists, food technologists, researchers, laboratories, universities and government innovation ecosystems.

• Leadership opportunity as Kefilo scales its RD and product innovation capabilities.

Important: This is an equity-based position with no fixed salary at the current stage. Equity will be structured based on expertise, network, contribution, responsibility and long-term commitment, subject to formal equity and founder/advisory agreements.

The ideal candidate is someone who can open doors, create institutional connections and convert Indias RD and innovation ecosystem into tangible opportunities for Kefilo - not someone who simply researches institutions or shares information.