Food & Fresh Produce Research Associate

GoLemon is an online grocery startup that delivers top-quality groceries and household essentials straight to customers doorsteps - at low prices. Think of us as the go-to for convenient affordable shopping all with a tap on your phone.

Behind the scenes fresh produce quality is one of the most important parts of our business. From sourcing and storage to processing hygiene packaging logistics and delivery - every touchpoint influences freshness shelf-life customer experience and operational efficiency.

Were building a new Fresh Produce Research function to improve how we handle store preserve and deliver fresh produce at scale. Our goal is to reduce waste optimise storage environments improve packaging standards strengthen cold chain processes and ensure our customers always receive fresh high-quality products.

Were hiring our first Food & Fresh Produce Research Associate - a smart hands-on curious and detail-obsessed operator with strong research instincts and practical experience working with fresh food agricultural produce post-harvest systems or food science.

When you join GoLemon you become part of the grocery e-commerce revolution in Nigeria! We deliver groceries to thousands of households and businesses within Lagos today - and were growing rapidly.

More about the role

As a Food & Fresh Produce Research Associate you will be responsible for researching testing and implementing improvements to how fresh produce is sourced handled stored packaged transported and processed across the GoLemon fulfilment pipeline.

Youll work closely with Sourcing Inventory Processing Quality Assurance Fulfilment and the Operations team to develop evidence-based recommendations that enhance shelf life reduce spoilage standardise quality and optimise cold chain operations.

You will run experiments collect field and lab-style data benchmark best practices across modern food and grocery supply chain operators and design improved SOPs that will push the quality of GoLemons fresh categories to world-class levels.

As the first member of our research function youll also establish the processes documentation standards and experimentation frameworks that will guide future hires.

Key responsibilities

Research & Experiments

You will:

• Conduct hands-on research and controlled experiments on shelf life ripening storage conditions and deterioration patterns for priority SKUs.
  
• Study post-harvest behaviour across different produce types (vegetables roots fruits and other perishables).
  
• Run trials under varied temperature humidity light exposure air circulation and handling conditions.
  
• Analyse outcomes and translate findings into clear actionable operational recommendations.
  

Storage handling & cold chain optimisation

You will:

• Research and define the ideal storage temperature humidity and handling requirements for each SKU.
  
• Assess and improve current storage practices in the fulfilment centre cold rooms and delivery chain.
  
• Work closely with Inventory Processing and Fulfilment teams to improve cold chain execution.
  
• Recommend improvements to reduce temperature abuse handling damage and premature spoilage.
  
• Develop guidelines on stacking spacing moisture control and packaging for each category.
  

Quality standards & SOP design

You will:

• Create and continuously refine freshness and quality standards per SKU (colour firmness ripeness packaging condition etc.).
  
• Develop multi-stage quality checklists from sourcing storage processing logistics.
  
• Train teams on quality standards and best practices.
  
• Monitor ongoing compliance and identify gaps across departments.
  

Packaging research & innovation

You will:

• Test different packaging materials sizes ventilation systems liners bags cartons and protective wraps.
  
• Evaluate how packaging affects shelf life moisture retention and transportation durability.
  
• Recommend optimal packaging specs per SKU or category.
  
• Explore sustainable packaging options without compromising freshness.
  

Data analysis monitoring & insight generation

You will:

• Track deterioration rates waste levels freshness loss and shelf-life performance by SKU.
  
• Analyse patterns across seasons suppliers storage conditions and logistics.
  
• Work closely with the Data team to incorporate research insights into forecasting and availability systems.
  

Cross-functional collaboration

You will:

• Partner with Sourcing to evaluate supplier quality and post-harvest handling practices.
  
• Collaborate with Processing teams on safe cutting washing draining prepping and portioning methods.
  
• Work with Fulfilment teams to enhance last-mile handling and packaging.
  
• Liaise with Product and Engineering teams to integrate research outputs into internal tools.
  

Requirements

Your experience & what it takes to succeed

Youre a great fit if you have:

1. 2 years experience in food science post-harvest research agricultural science fresh produce operations cold chain QA/food safety or a related field.
   
2. A strong foundation in post-harvest physiology fresh produce behaviour or food science research.
   
3. Experience conducting practical experiments with clear methodology controls and documentation.
   
4. Deep curiosity about fresh food ripening behaviour and environmental effects on produce.
   
5. Ability to work hands-on with produce daily - observing testing measuring sampling.
   
6. Strong analytical skills: comfortable with Excel/Google Sheet basic statistics and data interpretation.
   
7. High attention to detail reliability and ability to identify subtle quality differences.
   
8. Strong communication skills - able to distil research into simple recommendations for operations teams.
   
9. Comfort working in a fast-paced operational environment.
   
10. Experience with cold chain environments or perishable food categories is a plus.
    

Bonus points for:

• Experience in FMCG grocery operations agriculture retail food stores or fresh produce supply chains.
  
• Experience using sensors temperature loggers humidity meters or monitoring equipment.
  
• Familiarity with HACCP food safety standards or quality control frameworks.
  

Benefits

Why join us

1. Build the foundation of GoLemons fresh produce research function from scratch.
   
2. Work across sourcing inventory operations QA and fulfilment to drive real measurable improvements.
   
3. Directly improve product quality reduce waste and enhance customer satisfaction.
   
4. Conduct hands-on research with tangible operational outcomes.
   
5. Grow your expertise in post-harvest science cold chain operations and grocery fulfilment innovation.
   
6. Join a team that values curiosity ownership scientific thinking and operational excellence.