Operations Specialist Phenotyping and Data

ROLE PURPOSE 

Drive, develop and implement strategies for the digitalization of controlled environment (CE) based plant breeding. Design and operate smart sensor systems from proof-of-concept to scale to drive operational efficiency and support data-driven decision-making using sensor networks for environmental monitoring.

ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Deliver project results as part of an overall project plan and ensure seamless integration of technology, operations, algorithms and data flow with the IT infrastructure and standardized procedures
• Lead the implementation of High Throughput phenotyping strategies and related projects through implementation and deployment of automized tools, monitoring systems with a special focus on data collection
• Integrate and optimize technology development in interaction with IT/R&D-IT
• Responsible for crop automatized data collection, image processing, video making, data management and new tools implementation for all crops.
• Promote and implement new data capture tools and improvement processes proposals for all crops
• Manage and lead communication with external data collection team.
• Secure data curation and quality for later data analysis and data driven decisions of different crops stages.
• Support the data driven decisions in the development process (PLC3-4) by accurate data collection on different trials.
• Advance capability to use the program to analyze the data and recommendation.
• Collect quantitative and qualitative data, capable to build comment, hypothesis, and recommendation from the data.
• Closely interact with Plant Breeders, Data Science, IT, and Operations
• Be an active member of any relevant global network of experts, common interest groups with relevant functions to coordinate key technology advancements and promote sharing of best practice while continue to drive standardization for data collection strategies.
• Collect and integrate the different data sources into one database for data analysis
• Compare data coming from different data sources and databases (descriptive analysis) to provide the best insides for final purposes.
• Optimize data delivery (Quality, Quantity, and on Time) for predictive breeding.
• Visit external growers regularly to collect data align with the breeding projects.
• Ensuring the implementation of existing new tools and supporting and implementing future tools that are being generated, providing ideas and solutions to get or adopt new ones.
• Collaboration with biological operations through timely planning and clear guidance on crop management requests.
• Prototype trials data collection and observation. Prescreening: pre-selection and reporting according to BPL / Breeder guidelines, including data analysis.
• Organize prototype testing with operations and breeding trial specialists
• GSPP:  follow and implement all GSPP rules and process during the daily operations at site
• Support and improvement OpEx applications at site 
• Responsible for HSE policies, ensuring and promoting compliance

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.

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE & CAPABILITIES

Critical Skills:

• Experience in the process of data collection, demonstrating its ability to manage tasks and personnel.
• Experience in robotics delivery, development, and solution architecture preferably in plant breeding/biology research industries
• Expertise in environmental engineering and unique/low volume robotics and automation
• Skill in English, to communicate with different teams on or off the station.
• Handling Excel (create pivot, etc.) and informatic applications (Smartsheet, etc.).
• OpEx training and continuous improvement skills and mindset

Critical knowledge

• Knowledge in horticultural crops, plant breeding, management and development of computer applications, knowledge of data collection in crops.
• Build working relationships between different functions (Breeders, Marketing, Sales and farm staff).
• The culture of improvement continues and standards implementations GSPP
• Coordinate temporary staff to allocate.

Critical experience

• Coordination and transfer of knowledge to the team.
• Leadership and doing things with and without direct report lines

Critical technical and professional capabilities

• Ability and flexibility to cope with continuous changes.
• Clear decision-making in the face of conflicting priorities and ambiguities
•  Skills of continuous improvement and positive approach

Critical Leadership capabilities

• Trial
• Awareness
• Participate and inspire