Position Title: Field Technical Development Lead
Location: Watsonville, CA or Bakersfield, CA (with 25-50% travel)
Type: Full-time
Reports into: Breeding
Opportunity: Ohalo has developed the world’s first true hybrid potato seed system using its proprietary Boosted Breeding platform. This unprecedented advancement unlocks a step-change in potato farming, giving growers the ability to move from seed potato to true seed. Successful deployment of true seed requires rigorous variety testing alongside agronomic systems development.
Ohalo is seeking a Field Tech Dev Lead to support the development of hybrid true potato seed varieties from late-stage breeding through commercial readiness. Responsibilities include coordinating agronomic system development for planting, fertility, and crop protection with grower partners, coordinating field trials and early commercial trials across the US, data gathering and implementation of data collection systems, and feedback and support of grower partners and the broader Ohalo potato breeding organization.
The ideal candidate combines strong technical expertise in agronomic systems development with a detail-oriented approach to trial design and data gathering, and service-oriented approach to working with grower partners.
Key Responsibilities
- Design, execute, and analyze regional and on-farm trials to validate performance, stability, and agronomic fit of new true seed hybrids.
- Design and test multivariate agronomic systems to optimize in-field performance of new true seed hybrids.
- Ensure robust data gathering of commercial and breeding field trials.
- Support grower partners throughout field and commercial trials with in-field agronomic planning, in-season data gathering, and post-harvest phenotyping and data collection.
- Serve as the technical bridge between breeding and commercial teams.
- Provide technical input into variety positioning, launch planning, and market adoption, leveraging insights from trials to deliver field-ready agronomic recommendations.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree or higher in Agronomy, Plant Science, Horticulture, Crop Science, or a related field.
- 5+ years of direct experience coordinating agronomic systems and methods testing and deployment.
- Hands-on experience designing and managing field trials across multiple environments.
- Familiarity with production-scale constraints and process control (sampling plans, SOP validation, QC thresholds).
- Highly organized and data-oriented with a strong capacity for building standardized and scalable methods for data collection and grower communication.
- Excellent communication skills. Ability to interpret agronomic and performance data and translate it into insights and documentation.
- Comfortable working in a fast-moving, fluid, collaborative, and innovative environment.
- Willingness to travel as needed to trial sites and partner locations. Travel amount will vary depending on activities for the timing of the year i.e. planting, harvesting, etc. (10%-50%+).
- Highly motivated with a strong drive to meet company objectives.
- Comfortable utilizing technological advancements, including AI and similar methodologies, to drive continuous improvements.
- Innovative, proactive, and strategic thinker with a confident and humble approach to collaboration and problem-solving.
- Excited to change the world with a novel hybrid seed program in the world’s third largest calorie crop.
Preferred Experience
- Strong digital agronomy experience and expertise.
- Direct experience supporting launches of new hybrid seeds across international markets.
- Familiarity with agronomic systems and grower adoption dynamics in the potato industry.
The anticipated pay range that we reasonably expect to pay for this role is $100,000 - $150,000 for Watsonville, CA. Individual compensation is based on various factors including experience, education, skillset, and other relevant qualifications.
About Ohalo Genetics:
Ohalo™ aims to accelerate evolution to unlock nature's potential. Founded in 2019, Ohalo develops novel breeding systems and improved plant varieties that help farmers grow more food with fewer natural resources, increasing the yield, resiliency, and genetic diversity of crops to sustainably feed our population. Ohalo's breakthrough technology, Boosted Breeding™, will usher in a new era of improved productivity to radically transform global agriculture. For more information, visit www.ohalo.com.
Notes: If you previously applied for a job at Ohalo Genetics, we encourage you to restate your interest in the position by submitting your application.
No visa sponsorship is available for this position at this time.
No recruiters, please.