Research Assistant (Crop Screening and Development)

About the role

The Agriculture Research and Innovation Centre is hiring a Research Assistant to support crop variety screening and development. The work centres on green leafy vegetables grown under controlled environments and on developing heat-tolerant Amaranthus varieties.

Key responsibilities

• Conduct R&D activities on the growth and development of green leafy vegetables under controlled environment.
• Assist in crop variety screening and run climate-room experiments that vary environmental conditions to evaluate variety growth and develop heat-tolerant Amaranthus varieties.
• Plan and prepare plant samples for biochemical analyses investigating the mechanisms behind heat tolerance.
• Analyse data and help prepare tables and figures for project reports and updates.
• Handle procurement, including liaising with vendors, sourcing materials and equipment, coordinating testing and submitting purchase requests.
• Coordinate with industry partners and collaborating organisations to plan and run farm trials, including data collection.

Required profile

• Relevant qualification in Plant Science, Life Science, Biotechnology or a related field.
• At least 2 years of experience in plant science, with specialisation in plant biotechnology, plant breeding, plant physiology or controlled environment agriculture.
• Prior experience growing and maintaining plants in hydroponics or substrate for urban or commercial farming is favourable.

Required skills

• Familiarity with statistical tools for quantitative crop growth analysis.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to build working relationships at all levels.