Senior Greenhouse Associate

About the role.... 

The Sr. Research Associate position will reside within the Controlled Environment team and will work with a growing team and an expanding facility located in West Lafayette, IN. This position will be responsible to oversee the corn and wheat embryo production, first-generation seed production editing pipelines and advanced generation seed production of corn. Additionally, this role will be responsible for managing reports and workload to complete affiliated activities. The ideal candidate will have expertise in industry that will enable optimized growth conditions and maximize the capabilities for a diverse germplasm pool. Additionally, this role is expected to maintain, analyze and summarize datasets to generate and provide data summaries and communication. The candidate can expect a rapid paced atmosphere and will be flexible, show initiative, demonstrate leadership and good judgment to achieve established goals and deliverables. This position desires a dynamic, self-motivated leader to join our fast-growing and collaborative team of scientists.  

As a Sr. Research Associate-Greenhouse, you will… 

• Manage the monocot (corn and wheat) editing and embryo production pipelines, crossing and other related projects in greenhouse  
• Execute and manage associated activities with team members to exceed established deliverables 
• Supervisory responsibility including the training and development of direct reports and contract personnel 
• Develop planting plans and coordinate planting trials for seed or embryo production and trait characterization 
• Collaborate with project requestors to develop an effective strategy to execute and deliver the projects successfully 
• Lead process improvement and optimization experimentation and troubleshooting 
• Contribute to data analysis, collection and management  
• Interpret and summarize data and maintain detailed, accurate and comprehensible records of experiments and results 
• Develop written reports and communicate results in written and oral presentations 
• Maintain a clean greenhouse free of insects, diseases by instituting practices that contribute to a sustainable IPM program 
• Assist the team to develop and introduce best practices into accelerated growth cycles 
• Work closely with team members to maintain a completely functioning facility 
• Learn and apply all regulatory, stewardship, quality management systems, and environmental, health and safety requirements 

You Bring… 

• BS in plant sciences or closely related discipline (plant physiology, agronomy, horticulture) with 5 years of relevant experience or MS degree with 2 years of experience 
• Experience in field cropping or contained environments of major commercial crops  
• Excellent time management and organizational skills  
• Effective communication skills, both written and oral 
• Understanding of experimental design and execution in greenhouse  
• Experience with managing data in databases 
• Ability to multitask and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, production environment 
• Working knowledge of IPM and the ability to identify diseases and insects  
• Collaborative workmanship across functions 
• Ability to work both independently and in a team  
• Willingness and capability to supervise assistants and develop leadership skills 
• Creative and strategic thinking, willingness to be bold and take risks 
• Proficiency in Microsoft and Google software 
• Willingness to work occasional weekend and Holidays