Breeding Technician

Overview

Pepsi Co is a major food enterprise sourcing a variety of raw materials of agricultural origin such as tuber, grain, and fruit & vegetable crops around the world. A creative, results-oriented breeding technician is required to execute breeding activities primarily across potatoes and oat, with potential of expansion to other crops at a Pepsi Co breeding facility in Rhinelander, WI. This breeding technician is responsible for assisting the breeding programs, leading projects, and working within the breeding programs to drive the improvement of raw agriculture materials important to Pepsi Co.

This position will work closely with existing assistant breeders to execute breeding operations as set by the manager but is also expected to make independent decisions to meet project objectives. Breeding operations are in greenhouses, large walk-in growth chambers, fields, seed storage units, and occasionally wet chemistry labs. The position sits in the Agro Raw Materials Discovery function within Pepsi Co foods R&D.

This position is located at the Pepsi Co research facility in Rhinelander, WI and will report to the breeders on site.

• Work with potato and oat breeders, assistant breeders, and other technicians to work in the greenhouses, fields, and phenotyping facilities.
• Work with breeders and assistant breeders to phenotype breeding trials in the field and at the phenotyping facility. This includes in-season phenotyping in the field, performing oats milling and phenotyping operations, raw potato grading at harvest, and chip frying and processing traits.
• Work with breeders and assistant breeders to support field activities including pulling seed, planting, transplanting, seed cutting, sample pulling, roguing, and harvesting, etc. Ensure accurate records are taken and entered in a timely fashion.
• Work with breeders and assistant breeders to support greenhouse and growth room operations including growth area preparation, seed pulling, planting, transplanting, crop maintenance, pathogen testing, tissue sampling, crossing, seed extraction, inventory management, harvest, etc. Ensure accurate and timely data capture, and data upload to Pepsi Co’s databases, ensuring the data meets the expected quality standards.
• Utilize barcoding and inventory software to track and store seed, tuber, plant, and seed samples.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and promptly report challenges with breeding operations while proactively identifying potential solutions.
• Continuously identify opportunities for improving efficiency and quality of breeding operations, including efficiencies in processes, techniques, and flow.
• Comply with local EHS requirements, including but not limited to prevention, incident reporting, and remedial actions. Support local EHS efforts onsite through the ownership or co-ownership of a safety program, completion of required training, and attendance of all EHS meetings.
• Adapt to unexpected delays and changes in workflows to maintain overall productivity.

• The expected compensation range for this position is between $54,700 - $82,050.
• Location, confirmed job-related skills, experience, and education will be considered in setting actual starting salary. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range during the hiring process.
• Paid time off subject to eligibility, including paid parental leave, vacation, sick, and bereavement.
• In addition to salary, Pepsi Co offers a comprehensive benefits package to support our employees and their families, subject to elections and eligibility:
  Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Health, and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Insurance (Accident, Group Legal, Life), Defined Contribution Retirement Plan.

• Experience in an active breeding/genetics program, agriculture, leading teams, inventory tracking is preferred.
• Plus- B.S. in Plant Breeding, Horticulture, Agronomy, Biological Systems Engineering, Biology, or related discipline.
• Exhibit meticulous attention to detail and maintains precise, reliable records; demonstrates consistency and accuracy in completing repetitive or routine tasks; adapts effectively to shifting priorities, fluid schedules, and evolving responsibilities while sustaining high standards of performance.
• Ability to organize projects, lead teams, keep people motivated, and drive for results in any situation.
• Demonstrated experience in collecting data from plants and curating them for consistency and quality prior to uploading in company databases required.
• Demonstrate the ability to distinguish mission‑critical priorities from nonessential tasks; exercises sound judgment in identifying the next most impactful actions; maintains focus on high‑value initiatives while appropriately deferring or eliminating less critical activities.
• Excellent communication and networking ability with the local Pepsi Co community and the remote team.
• Proven ability to work closely with colleagues on…