ABOUT BENSON HILL
Benson Hill empowers innovators to develop more healthy, tasty, and sustainable food by unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants. Benson Hill’s CropOS™ platform combines machine learning and big data with breeding techniques and plant biology to drastically accelerate and simplify the product development process. This platform allows for cost-effective and more efficient ways for companies to analyze and make improvements in plant genetics. Benson Hill brings a unique and holistic approach to our product and platform development, as we span a broader workflow involving trait and seed development, genome editing, and breeding all the way to creating better ingredients and varieties that tap a strong consumer demand for more flavorful and nutritious fruits and vegetables. More information can be found online at www.bensonhill.com. Follow us on Twitter at @BensonHillInc.
OUR PURPOSE AND CORE VALUES
Our Core Values are a set of common principles we share that are fundamental to our company’s identity.
- BE BOLD! We redefine boundaries by providing new solutions to difficult problems. Together we are driven to transform the future and will not allow the fear of failure to prevent us from innovating. We voice our opinions, embrace change, and challenge each other to think creatively.
- BE INSPIRED! We have purpose in our work-we are curious, engaged, and have fun. We maintain an active learning mindset and are motivated by diverse people and thoughts. We are energized by all innovators and together we aim to make an impact and contribute to building a better world.
- BE REAL! We understand who we are, what we want to achieve, and what it takes to get there. We hold each other accountable through timely, candid, and well-intentioned feedback. Together we engage in honest communication and healthy debate that leads to success through true alignment.
DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW
The PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & ANALYTICS (PDA) Department is responsible for the delivery of the R&D breeding pipeline from inception of new product categories through to selection and advancement of these products on farm in grower fields, all in a massively compressed time to market. We conduct a wide range of research activities, namely in the areas of population development, speed breeding, trait introgression, and phenotyping to name a few. These activities are aimed at developing new capabilities in crop research, the outcome of which is leveraged to create new product development opportunities. We are establishing the most innovative testing network which spans Research & Development and on farm with Benson Hill growers where we design experiments, test & advance our latest products and corresponding business models for new value generation. We are a diverse, energized, and highly experienced team of professionals with a proven track record of delivering novel outcomes that have transformed areas of the Ag Tech sector. We are focused on designing for and delivering scientific and analytical products and insight geared around the commercial objectives with the greatest value and impact. We collaborate across a broad spectrum of internal Technology and Commercial teams along with key 3rd party partnerships to design and deliver these outcomes.
POSITION SUMMARY
Benson Hill is looking for a curious and passionate Product Assessment Scientist to be a part of the Product Assessment and Trait Introgression team. Benson Hill is innovating across the agriculture and food science space and is developing the next class of varieties with superior nutritional value and in-field performance. The Product Assessment Scientist will design and manage field experimentation to characterize trait performance across our breeding, biotech, and genetic engineering portfolios. The successful candidate will work across a diverse set of teams across the organization to meet business objectives and will have a solution-oriented mindset.
You will be responsible for:
- Independently designing and conducting experiments to better understand performance of Benson Hill seed products and technologies.
- Contributing expertise and knowledge relevant to trait development and trait characterization.
- Protecting novel findings through submission of invention disclosures.
- Collaborating cross-functionally to plan, coordinate, and execute efficacy and equivalency trials with major field crops (i.e., soybean and yellow pea).
- Partnering with our data analytics team on appropriate experimental design and analysis
- Providing regular and timely updates on project status, key milestones, challenges, and next steps to key stakeholders and leadership.
- Partnering with our precommercial team to enable the successful launch of next-generation Benson Hill products.
- Follow all stewardship and regulatory guidelines for new product launches and trialing requirements.
Education and Experience
- PhD degree preferred (minimum MS + 3 years of experience) in agronomy, crop physiology, plant biology, plant breeding, or related field
Qualifications
- Strong domain knowledge and understanding of crop production and field research practices
- Prior experience in the evaluation of trait introgression or GE/GM materials in a field environment
- Knowledge of methods of plant breeding, plant genetics, marker-assisted workflows and genotyping technologies
- Strong computer skills related to data acquisition, organization, and analysis
- Excellent record keeping skills and demonstrated attention to detail
- Demonstrated ability to work autonomously or collaboratively as a part of a team
- Excellent planner, organizer, critical thinker, and problem solver
- Strong record of creative and strategic thinking with the willingness to be bold Superior communication, decision-making, prioritization, and problem-solving skills
- Flexible and agile in a fast-paced work environment
