Seed Generation Research Specialist

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Seed Generation Research Specialist

Seed Generation Research Specialist

Wageningen, The Netherlands | Full-time

Shape the Future of Vegetable Breeding

At Bayer, we are committed to advancing agriculture through innovation and science. Our Vegetable Seeds team develops innovative solutions that help growers produce high-quality crops more efficiently and sustainably. To support our breeding pipeline, we are looking for a Seed Generation Research Specialist to join our team in Wageningen.

In this hands-on role, you will combine responsibilities across Nursery Operations and Crop Production, ensuring the successful execution of seed generation activities that support our vegetable breeding programs. Working closely with breeders, researchers, and operational teams, you will help deliver high-quality seed, accurate data, and reliable execution across the entire production cycle.

Your Tasks and Responsibilities

As a Seed Generation Research Specialist, you will contribute to both nursery operations and crop production activities, supporting the successful delivery of breeding and seed generation objectives.

Nursery Operations & Pipeline Support (50%)

• Execute daily nursery and seed inventory activities, including material preparation, sowing, transplanting, sampling, seed harvest, seed treatment, packaging, and trial package preparation.
• Support crossing blocks, nursery activities, and trial material delivery according to crop-cycle plans, protocols, and stakeholder requirements.
• Collaborate with nursery, breeding, crop production, and testing teams to ensure seed is delivered in the required quantity, quality, location, and timing.
• Maintain accurate nursery, inventory, phenotypic, and pipeline data in designated systems and breeding databases.
• Use operational data to improve nursery workflows, tools, and execution quality through data extraction, curation, and quality checks.
• Support planning activities, KPI tracking, stakeholder communication, and documentation.
• Identify operational risks and process improvement opportunities and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.

Crop Production & Crop Care (50%)

• Execute greenhouse and open-field crop-cycle activities from crop establishment through pollination, seed maturation, harvest, and post-harvest processing.
• Support controlled crossing and pollination activities while ensuring the protection of genetic identity and material integrity.
• Monitor crop development and escalate deviations that may impact timing, seed quality, yield, or material availability.
• Perform seed production and post-harvest activities including harvesting, extraction, drying, cleaning, treatment, sampling, and packaging.
• Ensure accurate labeling, tracking, and traceability of plants, crosses, fruits, seed lots, and related materials throughout the production cycle.
• Coordinate the movement of materials between nursery, greenhouse, processing, storage, and shipping functions.
• Apply crop health, hygiene, phytosanitary, and quality standards throughout daily operations.
• Record production outputs, observations, and exceptions in designated systems, and support corrective actions where required.
• Provide day-to-day technical guidance to co-workers and temporary staff as needed.

Safety, Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Comply with all site safety, stewardship, phytosanitary, and quality requirements.
• Complete required safety and operational training programs.
• Work flexibly across tasks, teams, and operational areas to support business priorities.
• Provide on-call, technical disturbance, or extended-hours support during peak periods when required.
• Contribute to projects focused on improving nursery, seed inventory, phenotyping, and crop production processes.

Who You Are

You are a hands-on and detail-oriented professional with a passion for plant science, seed production, and operational excellence. You enjoy working in a dynamic environment where collaboration, accuracy, and continuous improvement are essential.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree with at least 1 year of relevant experience, or a Master’s degree, in Plant Breeding, Plant Sciences, Horticulture, Agriculture, Seed Technology, or a related field.
• Experience in nursery operations, breeding trials, crop production, seed production, seed processing, or a comparable agricultural R&D environment.
• Knowledge of seed production activities such as crossing, pollination, harvesting, seed extraction, post-harvest processing, inventory management, and material handling.
• Experience using digital tools, enterprise systems, or breeding databases for data collection, traceability, inventory management, and reporting.
• Experience coordinating daily activities or providing technical guidance to colleagues, contractors, or temporary staff is preferred.
• Willingness to obtain required certifications or licenses, such as crop protection or spraying certification, where applicable.
• Fluent written and spoken English; Dutch language skills are an advantage.

What Will Make You Successful

• Hands-on, accountable, and detail-oriented with a strong sense of ownership.
• Committed to high standards of safety, quality, data integrity, and traceability.
• Able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Proactive and adaptable with a strong service-oriented mindset.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a continuous improvement focus.
• Effective communicator and collaborative team player.
• Able to work independently while knowing when to escalate issues and risks.

What We Offer

• A competitive annual salary ranging from €47,000 to €55,000 gross, including holiday allowance, depending on your experience and qualifications.
• An attractive annual bonus opportunity.
• 25 vacation days, with the option to purchase additional leave days.
• A strong pension scheme.
• A hybrid working environment where applicable.
• Excellent training and development opportunities.
• A diverse and inclusive working environment where everyone is encouraged to bring their authentic self to work.
• The opportunity to work with leading experts in vegetable breeding, plant science, and seed production.
• A challenging and impactful role within a global leader in agriculture and life sciences.

Be You. Be Bayer.

At Bayer, we believe that innovation starts with talented people who are passionate about making a difference. If you are excited about plant breeding, seed generation, and contributing to the future of sustainable agriculture, we would love to hear from you.

Apply now and join Bayer as a Seed Generation Research Specialist in Wageningen. Together, we can help shape the next generation of vegetable crops and contribute to feeding a growing world.

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YOUR APPLICATION

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Locatie:

Nederland : Nederland : Wageningen

Divisie:

Crop Science

Referentiecode:

894524