Job Description

At Syngenta, we believe every employee has a role to play in safely feeding the world and taking care of our planet. To support that challenge, the NA Seeds Development Team is currently seeking a Research Associate 2 to be located in Junction City, Kansas.

This role will provide the highest quality seed nurseries through timely and accurate agronomic practices and sound execution. This includes supporting local and regional efforts to create superior quality and quantities of seed, as well as assisting the Production Team’s targeted goals by continuously innovating and driving optimal field management.

Accountabilities

• Functioning as an integral member of a team responsible for a full range of seasonal routine tasks including but not limited to planning, actively communicating, packaging, planting, note taking (phenotyping), and harvesting seed production trials.
• Operation and in-field maintenance of agricultural machinery and/or agricultural research equipment.
• Performing all tasks and behaving in a manner compliant with and in support of all safety and stewardship-related company policies and practices, including completing all required company training courses.
• Supervising operational teams that include third-party contract labor and Syngenta full-time staff on and off site to achieve data-driven results and resolves minor problems or complaints.
• Effectively communicate regularly with peers and supervisors regarding the status of projects and work activities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in an agriculture-related discipline preferred and/or will consider equivalent and relevant experience.
• Clear understanding of the practices and procedures that impact research precision and accuracy.
• Understanding and demonstrated use of modern agronomic practices.
• Proficiently communicate and work well as part of a team.
• Plant, spray, maintain, and harvest crop trials to meet deadlines.
• Must be able to work independently without supervision while traveling to off-site locations to accurately collect and manage data obtained from trials.
• Coordinate and manage workload to complete objectives and tasks.
• Must possess strong attention to detail and an unrelenting commitment to quality.
• Good organization skills and ability to explain tasks to others.
• Pesticide Applicators License Holder or ability to acquire required.
• Receives and passes complex information on to required parties while making calculations and straightforward analysis as needed.

Preferred Requirements

• Strong agronomic skills related to insect, fertility, and water management.
• Experience with precision agriculture equipment and software systems.
• Clear understanding of the practices and procedures that impact trial data precision and accuracy.
• CDL Class A or ability to acquire preferred.
• Takes a broad perspective to problems and identifies issues and patterns from partial conflicting data or information.
• Willingness and motivation to learn, implement and champion new technologies.
• Demonstrated initiative and implementation of specific, measurable performance objectives.
• History of implementation of continuous improvements and new innovations.
• Model Syngenta’s commitment to safety, sustainability, and product stewardship.
• Knowledge of precision research equipment and applications. Ability to use MS Office, Smartsheets and other standard office software.
• Ability to use and support proprietary IT systems for data collection/analysis, tracking agronomic practices, and metric and KPI tracking.

Other Requirements

• Capable of working in high or low temperature conditions in field. Capable of lifting up to 50 pounds. Capable of working long hours during time-critical periods of the growing season.
• Field and office. Domestic travel required with occasional overnight stays. Potential allergens: pollen, fungal spores, chemical pesticides in the field.
• Seasonal travel to off station seed production locations, project meetings. Some domestic out of state travel required with seasonal overnight stays

Additional Information

• Full Benefit Package (Medical, Dental & Vision) that starts the same day you do
• 401k plan with company match, Profit Sharing & Retirement Savings Contribution
• Generous Paid Vacation, 9 Paid Holidays, Maternity and Paternity Leave, Education Assistance, Wellness Programs, Corporate Discounts among others
• A culture that promotes work/life balance, celebrates diversity and offers numerous family-oriented events throughout the year

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Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.