Senior Scientist – Trait Physiologist Job

Division: SBI
Function: Research & Product Development
City: Durham
State/Province: North Carolina [NC]
Country: United States [US]
Position Title: Senior Scientist – Trait Physiologist
Job ID: 2713

Role Purpose/Accountabilities:

- Coordinate and perform trait dissection experiments for characterization of advanced leads as well as for hypothesis generation and lead identification.
- Contribute expertise and knowledge relevant to crop improvement in the Agronomic Traits. In this context, AT includes programs such as abiotic stresses (drought, heat, etc) and crop yield.
- Identification of novel approaches to durable improvement of agronomic traits from a field crop perspective.
- Provide a knowledge and communication interface between the Seeds and Crop Genetics organizations and within Crop Genetics.
- Communicate goals, objectives and results to Crop Genetics, Crop Protection and Seeds units.

Accountabilities:
- Design and implement experiments that characterize the mode of action of advanced leads in the GM agronomic trait pipeline
- Design and implement experiments to dissect complex agronomic traits in order to develop hypotheses and identify leads for transformation and the development of products for AT.
- Actively interact with scientists in the Seeds organization through field experimental design and sampling.
- Protect novel findings through submission of invention documents.
- Maintain accurate experimental records according to company policies with outstanding attention to detail.
- Actively interact and share results with group members, project members and other scientists in a timely fashion
- Perform all activities in accordance with all applicable Syngenta and SBI Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) policies
- Take personal responsibility for health and safety of co-workers.


Knowledge, Skills & Experience:

Critical knowledge:
- PhD in plant physiology, biochemistry, genetics, or molecular biology and 2-5 years experience in crop physiology and biochemistry
- Excellent knowledge of plant physiology, genomics and biotechnology
- Knowledge of plant breeding strategies and crop genetics, particularly maize

Critical experience:
- Ph.D in plant physiology, biochemistry or agronomy and 2 to 5 years of experience in applied plant physiology or biotechnology with a proven record of success in the form of publications and/or patents.
- Experience in experimental design to understand the physiology of plants grown under experimental conditions in the lab, greenhouse and field.
- Experience with state of the art instrumentation that measures photosynthesis, plant growth and development as well as biochemical and metabolic characteristics of plants.


Critical technical, professional and personal capabilities:
- Experience in the design, implementation and reporting of experiments related to the physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology of plants.
- Experience in manipulating plant growth conditions in controlled environment chambers.
- Experience in the routine growth and measurement of plants in greenhouse, growth chamber and field conditions
- An understanding of the growth and development of maize and other crop plants
- Experience in independent design and implementation of experimental plans
- Excellent analytical and communication skills in interpreting and presenting study results
- Proficiency in use of standard software (e.g., Excel and PowerPoint);
- Demonstrated experience in working effectively as a member of a dynamic technical team and ability to communicate across multiple disciplines
- Flexibility in handling new job assignments and achieving results in a rapidly changing work environment
- An understanding of approaches to model crop plants for agronomic traits
- A familiarity with transcript, protein and metabolite profiling technologies for gene discovery and hypothesis development.


Critical leadership capabilities:
- Innovative
- Communicative
- Result-oriented
Critical Success Factors & Key Challenges:
- Ability to work across teams and science units.
- Creativity and innovation to conceive, design and test novel ideas.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and communication skills.
- Ability to develop science plans and deliver milestones in a changing environment.
- Excellent scientific knowledge and a quicker learner.


Additional Information:

- All applicants must be eligible to work in the US.
- Domestic and occasional international travel is required to field site experiments (occasionally for longer than 7 days), project meetings, and discussions with collaborators as well as to attend scientific conferences.