Plant Scientist Full Time

PLANT SCIENTIST

BASED INVERGOWRIE / HYBRID WORKING SALARY TO £32-37,000 DOE PLUS BENS

Have you ever wanted to work for a company doing something truly incredible, disruptive and working for the greater good of planet Earth?  Well, here is your chance.  Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) is a fast growing innovative Agritech SME changing how the world does farming.  Their leading edge indoor vertical farming towers allow IGS to control the weather and grow a range of plants, crops, fruit and herbs simultaneously at optimum conditions anywhere in the world.

Employing over 220 staff between sites in Edinburgh, outside Dundee (co-located and collaborating with the James Hutton institute) and Inverkeithing in Fife, we are deploying vertical farming towers globally.  We are currently increasing the Research team and need to recruit a Plant Scientist to join the team.  You can be based anywhere in East Central Scotland as the role is Hybrid (2 days from home and 3 onsite).

IGS is a fast-paced organisation with its Crop Research Centre focusing on developing high quality plant growth recipes for customers. The Plant Scientists are expected to have strong plant biology knowledge to plan and execute crop trials. You will be responsible for developing new crop growth recipes for the plant research pipeline, testing new nutrients, fertigation system, developing crop recipes and growth models based on environmental inputs in the IGS growth towers.   A ‘Can Do’ attitude, troubleshooting complex problems and an innovative mindset will be essential for the role. Excellent interpersonal skills, clear communication and cooperative behaviour is of prime importance for this role.

Key responsibilities include:

Responsible for planning and running crop growth optimization trials in alignment with the crop research strategy.
Responsible for developing the trial plan including resource estimation and timelines for successful trials.
Responsible for data analysis & report generation.
Developing novel recipes using various light, nutrient & environmental modulation in IGS growth towers.
Participate in various cross functional research projects at IGS.

The right candidate is typically educated to Masters or PhD level in a relevant Plant Science, Plant Physiology or Agronomy based discipline. You have proven hands-on research experience in indoor / controlled agriculture engineering (CAE) plant growth environments; examples include, Green Houses, Containers or Vertical Farms. You will need a very good understanding of plant biological and growth processes, photobiology, nutrients, growth substrates and fertigation systems.  Experience in abiotic stresses associated with crops will be helpful (not essential but desirable), as is experience with agronomic analysis of crop performance GXEXM.

This represents an incredible opportunity to “give something back” and be part of a culture geared to helping others internally and externally.  Your leading base salary (£32-37,000 per annum) is complemented by an extensive benefits package including private medical insurance, great pension, long term sickness cover and 35 days annual leave.  Career stability and growth can be taken as a given.

To apply for this role please apply to our inhouse Talent acquisition Manager Bruce Hydes.