Breeding Principal Bulb & Root Crops

Strong breeding programs are essential for maintaining a competitive and innovative crop portfolio. As Breeding Principal, you play a leading role in shaping the long-term success of Enza Zaden's crop groups by translating crop strategy into breeding direction, strengthening breeding quality, and driving innovation across multiple breeding programs. Working closely with breeding leadership, R&D, and commercial stakeholders, you help ensure that our breeding pipelines remain strong, relevant, and future-focused.

Make a difference as Breeding Principal. As Breeding Principal, you are responsible for ensuring breeding excellence and the long-term competitiveness of one or more crop groups. Reporting to the Vice President Breeding you work in a dual leadership model together with the Head of / Global Manager Breeding, combining scientific expertise, strategic insight, and innovation leadership to strengthen breeding performance and future opportunities.

You play a key role in connecting crop strategy, breeding execution, and technological innovation while supporting the development of high-performing breeding programs and teams. In this role, your work will include:

• Contributing to crop group strategy and planning by translating crop segment strategies into breeding targets, priorities, and processes aligned with Business Dynamics.
• Co-leading the crop group in a dual management structure, ensuring strong governance, alignment, and performance across breeding programs.
• Acting as a recognized technical authority in plant breeding, modern breeding methodologies, and phytopathology for the crop group.
• Driving innovation through the development and implementation of new breeding concepts, techniques, and crop opportunities with high strategic impact.
• Leading continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen the quality, efficiency, and performance of breeding programs across crop segments.
• Coaching and mentoring breeders while safeguarding critical knowledge and strengthening technical expertise throughout the breeding community.
• A valued member of the Crop Group Management Team.

What you bring as our future colleague. As Breeding Principal, you are a respected and forward-thinking breeding expert who combines deep scientific knowledge with strategic vision and a passion for innovation. You know how to connect science, market needs, and business objectives, and you are able to influence stakeholders at different organizational levels. With your strong leadership, communication, and coaching skills, you build alignment, inspire others, and help shape the future of breeding.

In addition, you have:

• A Master's degree or PhD in Plant Science or a related discipline.
• More than 15 years of relevant experience in plant breeding, with a strong track record of delivering impact.
• Recognized expertise in plant breeding, modern breeding methodologies, and phytopathology, with extensive breeding experience in onion and root crops.
• Deep understanding of market dynamics and customer needs, enabling you to connect breeding direction with commercial value.
• Proven experience leading complex breeding programs and driving continuous improvement across multiple programs or crop segments.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills in multidisciplinary and international environments.
• Experience in coaching and developing breeders and other technical professionals.
• Excellent command of English and the local language, both written and spoken.
• Willingness to travel internationally as required for the role.

Enza Zaden is an international family-owned company that has been developing innovative vegetable varieties since 1938. Together with more than 3,300 colleagues worldwide, we work on vegetable seeds with better flavor, higher yields and strong resistances. We do this from our mission: "Breeding to feed the world". Every day, more than 480 million people eat vegetables grown from our seeds, and that is something we are very proud of.

We are passionate about our work and care about one another. Good ideas are given room to grow and together we keep moving forward. This is how we continue to…