Breeding Specialist; Sunflower​/Oilseeds

Growing What Matters Starts With You

Corteva Agriscience™, the world's first dedicated agriculture start‑up, serves to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. Our employees fulfill this purpose everyday by building and participating in an inclusive culture where we encourage each other to stay curious, think differently, act boldly and do what’s right for our customers, co‑workers, partners and the planet.

With over 20,000 team members from 130 countries, innovating in 140 world‑class R&D facilities, we have the resources, leadership heritage and partner ecosystem to make a meaningful impact now and into the future.

We’re hiring in Delmas for a Breeding Specialist (Sunflower / Oilseeds). Learn how you can be our voice in the conversation about the future of agriculture.

The Breeding Specialist plays a pivotal role in translating global and local genetic gain into market‑ready products for Africa. Working at the interface of breeding, operations and the wider research network, this role ensures that the newest genetics move quickly and reliably from concept to field, with rigorous execution at every step. It is a broad, cross‑functional position with exposure across multiple breeding programs and research centers, offering the opportunity to develop, broaden and influence at scale how breeding is delivered.

This role may lead activities, teams or projects across research centers – including seed handling and logistics, double‑haploid delivery, trait integration, marker development, regional experiment planning, seed production planning and phenotyping projects. While anchored in Sunflower and Oilseeds, the role may contribute across all focal crops as program needs evolve.

Reports to the Site Operations Lead and works closely with all breeders, molecular biologists, plant pathologists, data analysts, operational teams and systems specialists. Be part of smooth, continuous and timely planning of research activities driving on‑time execution of research operations, data turnaround times, experimental accuracy and safety compliance.

• Collaborate with global Sunflower and Oilseeds breeding colleagues to develop and deliver products for the African market.
• Ensure on‑time and high‑quality execution of breeding program nurseries and phenotyping activities across all research centers and teams involved.
• Facilitate interactions and global seed logistics between breeding programs, trait integration, genotyping and rapid‑cycling nursery teams, ensuring the newest genetics are delivered fast.
• Prepare data analysis jobs and participate in operational and product advancement meetings.
• Hold accountability for the full experimental plan and operational task management, in conjunction with Breeding and Operations Leads.
• Supervise projects including breeding germplasm inventory management: coordinating global seed exchange, non‑routine seed discards and systems data updates.
• Pursue continuous learning of Sunflower germplasm, new breeding tools and technologies, and the optimisation of work processes (continuous improvement).
• Ensure global best practice in sunflower operations at all relevant research centers and contribute to operating procedures in planting, seed handling, pollination, seed processing, conditioning and storage.
• Engage in the Safety Programme, meeting legal requirements and the company’s internal policies while motivating colleagues in the same direction.

This role will involve extensive in‑season field work and the ability to validate and confirm that field experimentation represents the intended system design, and that the data generated through these experiments are accurate. The job will involve significant field time and a reasonable amount of local travel. The ability to drive a vehicle is an essential requirement.

Delmas, Mpumalanga, SA.

• PhD in Genetics / Plant Breeding, or M.Sc. supported by a minimum of 3 years’ relevant experience.
• Sunflower field experience is beneficial.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability…