Flowers Research & Development Intern

About Us 

We invite you to help us shape the future of floriculture. At Syngenta, we believe every employee has a role to play in safely feeding the world and taking care of our planet. To support that challenge, the Flowers R&D Operations Team is currently seeking students to participate in our internship program in Gilroy, CA.  

As an intern at Syngenta Flowers, you have the opportunity to work alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry, and work on real projects finding real solutions. Work with us and you’ll receive:  

• Competitive wages   
• Ongoing career development resources    
• The opportunity to work on meaningful, innovative projects that solve problems  
• A culture that celebrates diversity & inclusion, promotes professional development, and offers flexible work options to meet both your work and personal needs 

Estimated Duration: May 2023 – September 2023  

You will: 

• Work on meaningful projects that solve problems and develop new varieties all while being surrounded by beautiful fields of flowers, and within 2 hours drive of the CA central coast from San Francisco to Big Sur 
• Execute growing tasks across various crops in support of breeding, product development, research trialing, marketing, and elite stock plant maintenance for Flowers R&D 
• Support the Growing Team to execute the growing of crops and trials including propagation, transplanting, irrigation, fertilizer, plant growth regulator application, plant maintenance, insect and disease management, and crop scheduling 
• Assist the growing team with all aspects of growing and plant quality of assigned crops and trials grown at the Syngenta Flowers Gilroy site in close cooperation with growing, trialing, lab services, breeding, and marketing teams 
• Opportunities for experience in one or more of the following areas depending on the business need and the experience and interest of the candidate:  
  • Breeding technician – hand pollination, seed collection 
  • Horticulture – propagation, transplanting, fertilizer, PGRs, IPM, irrigation 
  • Entomology – insect pollination trials and beneficial insect applications 
  • Plant pathology – disease inoculations and pathogen testing 
  • Tissue culture – secure and maintain germplasm in vitro 

What you must have: 

• A High School diploma or equivalent 
• Completion of 2 years of college classes 
• Enrollment in a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy, Biology, Botany, Plant Pathology, Ag Business, Entomology, Crop Protection, or another closely related field of study 
• A valid Driver's License 

What you might also contribute to the team: 

• Communication-The ability to communicate information well (both written and spoken) is highly desired 
• Detail Oriented-All procedures and policies must be understood and followed 
• Autonomous-An independent individual who is self-motivating and needs little supervision 
• Confidence- Not afraid to ask bold questions and be curious 
• Eagerness to learn and grow in the role  
• Familiarity with working on a farm or laboratory, working with crops, irrigated crops, flowers or vegetables in a greenhouse is preferred but not required. 
• The intern will be working in research fields and greenhouses and must have a willingness to work in areas where beehives are present for pollination purposes. 

#LI-KR1

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. 

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)  

(http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmla.htm) 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) 

(http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/firststep/poster_direct.htm) 

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) 

(http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/eppa.htm) 

Syngenta Seeds is one of the world’s largest developers and producers of seed for farmers, commercial growers, retailers and small seed companies. Syngenta seeds improve the quality and yields of crops. High-quality seeds ensure better and more productive crops, which is why farmers invest in them. Advanced seeds help mitigate risks such as disease and drought and allow farmers to grow food using less land, less water and fewer inputs. Syngenta Seeds brings farmers more vigorous, stronger, resistant plants, including innovative hybrid varieties and biotech crops that can thrive even in challenging growing conditions. Syngenta Seeds is headquartered in the United States.