R&D Technical Services Researcher

Overview

Company:
Wonderful Orchards/Wonderful Bees, part of The Wonderful Company. The company has approximately 100,000 planted acres in California's San Joaquin Valley and is a large grower of almonds, pistachios and pomegranates. Wonderful Bees is expanding as part of the company’s growth initiatives in the farming and bee health space.

Job Description:

As a member of the R&D team responsible for validating and creating farming innovations, Technical Services Researchers implement daily, seasonal and yearly technical and research tasks at their base location and as needed across all farming locations. Role requires ability to work independently and remotely under field, lab and office conditions, and may involve travel across locations using company vehicles. Activities may include applied experiments in agronomy, irrigation, cultivars, farming systems, crop protection or crop physiology.

• Establish and implement work plans with supervision of the Director of Research
• Coordinate and conduct applied agricultural field and/or laboratory experiments while supporting numerous sequential and overlapping activities
• Ensure the quality and quantity of the work performed by support staff on experiments
• Provide technical information to Farming Directors, Crop Managers, Pest Control Advisors, Spray Operations, Irrigation Managers and field personnel
• Enhance the robustness of experimental activities through precision and accuracy in trial design, data analysis, and reporting of results
• Seek opportunities to improve workplace efficiency and safety
• Use, maintenance and troubleshooting of specific field, lab, office, or agricultural equipment related to experiments
• Willingness to learn new tasks while maintaining core competency of existing skills
• Interact with public (academic) and private (vendor) technical experts to explore existing and future farming improvements
• Creation and management of budgets associated with applied field and lab experiments
• Other duties as assigned

Education and/or

Experience:

Bachelor’s Degree in field of Science, Plant Health, Plant Science, Crop Science, Entomology, Biology, Lab Sciences or related agricultural field

Specific Knowledge, Skills, Licenses,

Certifications:

• Innovation-oriented, addressing current and future challenges with curiosity and attention to detail
• Customer-oriented focus, serving the needs of farming operations as an adjunct member of divisional farming teams
• Team player, flexible, reliable, able to work with minimal supervision
• Effective written and oral communication for diverse audiences (executives, farm management teams, farming personnel)
• Knowledge or experience with orchards or permanent crop farming preferred
• Familiarity with commercial agricultural conditions and practices
• Safety, productivity, and attention to detail as daily objectives
• Experience supervising internal employees and/or contract labor crews
• Ability to assess changing workplace conditions and adjust tasks accordingly
• Understanding of errors and omissions in technical work and ability to address them
• Exposure to statistical measurements of data
• Holding or ability to obtain PCA and CCA certifications
• Valid California Driver’s License
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred

Pay Range: $70,500 - $75,000. Final compensation will be dependent upon skills and experience.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to perform the essential functions of this job. The role requires sitting, standing, walking, talking, and hearing. Occasional lifting up to 50 pounds. The position is primarily office-based but may involve field or outdoor work. Vision requirements include close, distance, color, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Predominantly office environment with exposure to noise levels from low to moderate and moderate temperatures.

This job description is a summary of typical functions and not a comprehensive list of all possible responsibilities, tasks, and duties. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential…