The plant biotechnology Innovation center of Bayer in Gent is part of Bayer CropScience NV in Diegem. The Gent site now has 350 employees and is the most important research and development center of the Seeds division of the Bayer group. Bayer CropScience is a leading international player in the research, development and marketing of agricultural and vegetable seeds with added value traits. The innovation and product development in Gent is focused on agricultural crops such as oilseed rape, cotton, rice and wheat. The Seeds division has more than 2700 employees worldwide. The headquarters of Bayer CropScience are in Monheim, Germany, The company has more than 20.700 employees in more than 120 countries.

In the Gent Innovation center, the innovation and commercialization processes of improved plant varieties are being streamlined by integrating plant biotech research and global business support functions – such as legal, intellectual property, quality analysis & control and regulatory.

Job description
As Breeding & Trait Development Field Phenotyping Manager, you will:

• Contribute to the development (vision) of and execute the BCS Crop Efficiency strategy by leading the Field Phenotyping platform in Breeding &Trait Development at the interface with the different stakeholders in R&D, using internal and external partnerships. The ultimate goal is to offer capacity and expertise to assess with precision quantitative traits in the field, including traits such as water use efficiency.
  - Ensure that we are utilizing optimal technologies in the near future with required capacity
  - Ensure governance with clear objectives and deliverables
  - Ensure alignment with and access to necessary support from specific skill sets (e.g. crop physiology, remote sensing, automation, algorithm development, environmental modeling, etc)
• Establish and lead a Breeding &Trait Development field phenotyping network across breeding and research, support the overall phenotyping strategy in BCS and work in close collaboration with Agronomy Development.
• Coordinate and lead the phenotyping activities at the Breeding & Trait Development Hypercare farms, i.e. fully equipped sites dedicated to precision phenotyping, to ensure availability of necessary tools, equipment and expertise for precision plant and environment phenotyping, in line with the objectives of the Crop Efficiency operational plan.
• Ensure constant improvement of precision phenotyping methodologies, mainly focusing on automation, sensor and image technology, data management and analysis: scout for new tools, initiate and steer collaborations and coordinate testing, validating and implementing of new phenotyping and monitoring technologies.
• Establish collaborations with internal BCS projects as well as external initiatives in the domain of digital farming and large scale precision farming
• Your work location can be Ghent/ Europe or USA.

Your qualifications

• PhD or equivalent experiences in agronomy, automated field phenotyping, digital farming or related fields
• 5-10 years’ experience in field trialing, automated field phenotyping and management of field operations
• Solid experience in farm equipment, modern sensing/imaging technologies (e.g. LiDAR, multi/hyperspectral imaging, thermal imaging), data information technologies, soil analysis, environmental conditions measurements, etc.
• Solid scientific background in crop management practices, plant physiology, field trial execution, agronomy and data analysis. Experience with semi-controlled field environments such as irrigation or nutrient trials, is a plus.
• A vision and strong interest in innovation in the area of precision phenotyping and strong comprehension on trait assessment and plant phenotypes
• Strong team leadership in multicultural and multidisciplinary managerial environment
• Ability to lead virtual development of teams and to partner with other phenotyping related roles in R&D Small Molecules and Biologics
• Knowledge of a field crop is important, wheat crop is preferred
• Capable to ask the right questions, to challenge operational and managerial staff on the way of managing projects, resources and on the quality of the execution

Your application

We offer a competitive salary with benefits package in an innovative and international environment. Our teams are amongst the best in the industry. Teamwork, entrepreneurship, drive, a passion to learn and to share knowledge, respect for sustainable development and integrity are our most precious values. Our international and interdisciplinary work environment offers a range of possibilities to motivated, qualified people with excellent interpersonal and organizational skills.

www.career.bayer.be 
Phone +32 2 535 66 99

Reference Code: 0000083799