Position details
To breed and develop innovative and competitive seeded and seedless watermelon hybrids for priority segments and global markets.
Duties and responsibilities
- Develop and maintain a well-organized breeding program that provides a continuous competitive pipeline of hybrid watermelon products for priority markets in the USA and internationally.
- Undertake evaluation and analysis of product performance in comparison to competitor varieties within the breeding stations, and screening and external trial sites. Evaluate F1 Hybrids, placing trials locally and/or internationally. Travel to the locations of the trials for evaluation.
- Maintain breeder seed of parent lines with maximum genetic trueness, seed quality and adequate inventory. Provide descriptions of parental lines and experimental hybrids, providing support to foundation seed, pre-commercial and production units.
- Communicate and discuss various breeding strategies with other breeders to achieve breeding goals in the most effective manner.
- Plan Work with station manager and other colleagues to achieve breeding tasks with greatest efficiency.
- Make strategic breeding crosses to enhance germplasm, to incorporating multiple key traits and novel traits (e.g. disease resistance, fruit quality, high productivity) and novel traits into existing germplasm for population development, or line enhancement or marker development.
- Interact with major customers, product development, marketing and sales personnel, and major customers to evaluate and identify new commercial hybrids.
- Perform other incidental and related duties as required and assigned.
Position Dimensions and Qualifications
Educational Level and Focus:
Master degree or PHD degree in science specialized in Plant Genetics and/ or equivalent. 7-10 Years experience in seed breeding.
Skills and Abilities:
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- Ability to articulate and share information with management and team members by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and identifying the best people for the job. Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Ability to act professionally in holding others accountable to agreed upon responsibilities and tasks.
- Adept at time management of self and others.
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (: Microsoft Word; Microsoft Excel; Microsoft Outlook and Powerpoint) and plant breeding database applications.
- Highly skilled at observation, phenotyping and optimizing abiotic and biotic selection pressure, showing ability to adopt cellular and molecular tools to improve selection efficiency, heterosis and quality control.
- Adept at focusing attention to detail.
- Ability to balance goals within logistical and budgetary guidelines.
- Analytical mind to recognize and understand available genotyping and phenotyping technology to use in development of new products.
Physical Demands:
Must be able to work in the office and fields/greenhouses under various ambient conditions, particularly reduced air-quality and in periods of high temperatures possible exceeding 100 degrees F. Must be physically fit to walk, bend, kneel, squat, bend your neck, and lift up to 50 lbs. Agro-industrial and lab chemicals are sustainably used on site in compliance and in accordance to regulations.
Travel:
Domestic and international travel is required, approximately 10% of the time.
Work Environment:
Office, outdoor and greenhouse work with seasonal temperatures close to 100 degrees, walk on uneven surface and within limits, often be exposed to chemicals.
Special Equipment Used:
Using computers and computer systems (software) to set up functions, enter data, track or process information.