R&D Project Manager

Upward Farms

Brooklyn, New York, NY, United States

Posted on: 2022-05-05

Category: food

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Expired

Employment type:

Full time

Experience required:

Senior

Salary

Salary not provided

About the company:

Upward Farms grows leafy greens and fish with the highest ecological and quality standards so that everyone can nourish their body, family, and the planet.

With 95% of leafy greens grown on the West Coast and 90% of seafood imported, our mission is to heal the broken food system and reconnect eaters with flavorful and nutritious local food.

Upward Farms designs and operates complete ecosystems of plants and fish in vertical farms, supplying these organic products to local grocers. We are currently expanding and have recently opened a new cutting-edge facility in Brooklyn. More and larger farms are in the works. Our mission is to heal the broken food system and reconnect eaters with flavorful and nutritious local food.

In this role, you will partner with Technical Leads across plant science, microbial ecology, digital phenomics, business analytics, chemical and materials R&D, and regenerative agriculture R&D programs to initiate, manage, and drive projects forward. You will be called on to manage projects utilizing both traditional and flexible project management methods. As a project manager of R&D projects, you embrace complexity, have a hunger to understand the world at a fundamental level, and are driven to deliver solutions that have commercial value. You are encouraged to build bridges and co-create our R&D culture.

Location: Brooklyn, NY, or remote

Success

As one of the first project management hires onto the Agriculture & Manufacturing R&D (AMRD) team, your objective is to work closely with scientists and engineers on diverse projects, owning project management activities and decisions and augmenting each technical lead on mission critical activities. Success in this role means delivering projects on time, within scope, and within budget, while flexibly managing the uncertainty and complexity of the R&D process. A key part of success in this role is empathic and professional communication and relationship building with internal and external stakeholders and contractors. The ultimate responsibilities and contributions of the person we hire will be shaped around the individual and their background. There is tremendous room for growth at our company.

Responsibilities

Take on the project management of mission critical R&D projects, working closely with technical leads and program managers to deliver results.
Collaborate with technical leads at the front end of projects to grapple with complex, ambiguous, and volatile R&D activities to turn them into work packages that have clearly defined scope and timelines.
Work cross-functionally to gather requirements, establish scope, define timelines, and identify deliverables for R&D projects
Identify, document, and adapt to critical branch points that emerge over time.
Spend time with colleagues and resources across a range of science and engineering disciplines to get fully up to speed on the technical aspects of R&D projects, knowing where to acquire knowledge and where to delegate.
Maintain and advance a suite of best practices including both traditional and flexible project management methods, working with project managers within R&D and across other teams to harmonize, optimize, and standardize methods.
Deliver and facilitate empathic and professional communication with internal and external stakeholders, with a focus on relationship development.
Source, onboard, and manage external contractors and stakeholders.
Own end-to-end and day-to-day management of projects including issue management, change management, documentation and reporting.
Leverage the latest digital project management tools and technologies to support development of scalable, industry-leading R&D solutions.
Establish and work within project budgets, seeking approvals when necessary.
Proactively identify and mitigate risks, issues, and discrepancies, escalating where necessary and working to resolve obstacles.
Directly contribute to the advancement of farming, manufacturing, and product outcomes through skillful project management.
Work directly with R&D Operations Program Manager on special projects supporting the AMRD team.

Requirements

BS in the sciences or engineering.
5+ years of experience in a project management or similar role at a high-growth, rapidly changing, and technology-focused organization.
Strong conviction regarding how to apply the principles of project management to R&D.
Hands on exposure to the development of original scientific research.
Experience in successfully managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Deep understanding of both traditional and flexible project management tools, methodologies and techniques.
Project management certification or coursework in relevant topics.
Clear and concise oral and written communication that is supportive of stakeholder management and compelling for decision makers.
Highly proficient in all aspects of document management, including project plans, meeting agendas, and requests for proposals.
Roadmap-oriented and strategy minded.
Competency in project budgeting and basic accounting.
Mastery of project management platforms (e.g. Wrike) and fluency with modern workplace technology, including Slack, Zoom, G-suite, etc.

Preferred Skills + Experience

Experience with vendor management.
A love for biology.

Benefits

We offer a dynamic work environment and benefits that include:

Aetna Medical, Aetna and MetLife Dental, and Aetna Vision insurance; FSA/HSA plans; and HIPAA-compliant health advocates. Upward Farms contributes 80-95% of the premium for Medical benefits for employees and their families.
Unlimited paid sick time. For extended illness, we offer short term disability.
Up to 20 days paid time off per year, depending on experience, in addition to paid holidays.
For new parents, an extension of New York State’s paid family leave for up to 18 weeks of fully paid parental leave. This leave is in addition to Disability leave available to pregnant and postpartum mothers.
401(k)
Commuter benefits, discounted bike shares, and other perks.
Fresh salad, and lots of it!

Working Here

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our needs are unique and varied so we value colleagues with diverse backgrounds. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and/or protected veteran status.

Please note we do not provide immigration sponsorship for this position; applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

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