Field Technology Development & Agronomy Lead

Position Title: Field Technology Development & Agronomy Lead

Location: South San Francisco, CA with frequent travel (~30%)

Type: Full-time

Ohalo is hiring a Field Technology Development & Agronomy Lead to lead the end-to-end field system development for planting true potato seed at commercial scale. This role bridges seed technology, agronomy, farmer support and digital data capture.

You will lead development of all farmer-facing technical protocols, field support systems, and data capture pipelines — and will serve as point of contact for our early adopter farmers during planting, growing, harvest, and feedback.

Responsibilities:

Seed Pelletization and Seed Treatment Technology Development

• Improve the true potato seeding system by enabling automated planting, fast successful germination, and optimal yield outcomes through seed pelletization and treatment of our Boosted potato hybrid true seed.
• Design, test, and optimize seed pelletization parameters of true potato seed production, including size, weight, shape, and material mix.
• Test and optimize seed treatment parameters of true potato seed, including germination acceleration, fertilization support, crop protection, and other generally available and/or proprietary seed treatments.
  
  

Agronomic System Development

• Design, test, and optimize the seeding system for our true seed systems:
• Planter calibration and singulation
• Seed placement and field uniformity
• Seed treatment compatibility and seed handling
• Lead the development of field-ready agronomic protocols for direct seeding of potatoes, strawberries, and future crops, including:
• Seedbed preparation, soil moisture management, and seeding depth/spacing
• Early-stage crop establishment, vigor tracking, and emergence scoring
• Fertility timing and nutrient use optimization
• Irrigation planning based on growth stage
• Weed, pest, and disease control strategies aligned to seedling biology
• Planting and harvest workflows and yield sampling
• Build crop- and region-specific protocols that reflect the variability of production zones.
• Design and execute field trials and strip tests to compare hybrid performance based on different regions and methods and to drive protocol refinement.
  

Knowledge Sharing & Grower Translation

• Develop clear, grower-facing guides and recommendations — grounded in agronomic data and adapted to field conditions.
• Oversee development of training tools, field checklists, and in-season agronomy support materials.
• Partner with the Commercial Team to ensure early adopters are equipped to succeed.
  
  

Field Data Collection & Post-Season Learning

• Partner with Engineering team to deploy and utilize tools for field data capture:
• Mobile surveys, emergence logs, performance scoring, and harvest sheets
• Remote monitoring tools
• Drive structured in-season and post-season analysis of field performance across pilot sites.
• Conduct grower interviews and translate field observations into next-season protocol upgrades.
  

Cross-functional Integration

• Collaborate closely with:
• Breeding: To provide field feedback for selection under real-world seeding systems
• Seed Production: To align agronomic systems with upstream seed quality
• Field Trial Management: To ensure timely execution of defined protocols for field testing as part of Tech Dev programs
• Commercial: To shape customer experience and system rollout readiness
• Regulatory: To inform region-specific compliance and crop registration planning
  

Qualifications:

• 5+ years in agronomic technology development, seed-based R&D, and/or agronomic field testing.
• Strong experimental design and execution capabilities.
• Strong grounding in seed-to-soil interaction, early vigor, and plant emergence.
• Experience designing and running field trials, optimizing seeding systems, and evaluating crop establishment under variable conditions.
• Comfortable building protocols from scratch in fast-moving, ambiguous environments.
• Exceptional organizational skills, competent at management of multiple grower accounts, data flows, and internal reporting, without delays or errors.
• Startup mindset — willing to build systems from scratch and iterate fast
• Familiarity with digital data capture tools a plus
• Effective communicator across farmer, scientist, and commercial audiences.
• Expertise in direct-seeded vegetable or specialty crops — potatoes, leafy greens, carrots, onions, or strawberries a strong plus.
• Familiarity with planter systems, seed pelleting, ag data capture tools, and crop modeling a plus
  
  

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.