Plant Scientist / Plant Nutrition Expert

Intelligent Growth Solutions; Invergowrie; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 60,000

Job description

Are you looking to work for a company doing something truly incredible, disruptive and exciting? Now is your chance! Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) was founded in 2013 and has brought together decades of farming and engineering experience to create a market-leading agritech business with a vision to revolutionise indoor growing.

Over the last decade, IGS has built its reputation as a leading global provider of vertical farming technology and is now looking to recruit an experienced Plant Scientist / Plant Nutrition Expert to join the team.

IGS is a fast-paced organisation with its Crop Research Centre focusing on developing high quality plant growth recipes for customers. You 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. The Plant Scientist / Plant Nutrition Expert will also be responsible for testing new nutrients, fertigation systems, developing crop recipes and growth models based on environmental inputs in the IGS growth towers.

Key responsibilities include:

1. Developing and testing new systems for efficient nutrient delivery in a controlled environment. Responsible for optimising plant nutrition for crop growth.
2. Planning and running crop growth optimization trials in alignment with the crop research strategy.
3. Developing the trial plan including resource estimation and timelines for successful trials.
4. Responsible for data analysis & report generation.
5. Developing novel recipes using various light, nutrient & environmental modulation in IGS growth towers & developing physiological, agronomic and metabolic crop models using AI.
6. Participate in various cross-functional research projects at IGS.

Skills and Experience:

1. PhD in Plant Biology, Chemistry, Physiology, Plant biochemistry, Horticulture & other related discipline or Masters + 2-3 years industrial experience in relevant areas mentioned.
2. Experience in indoor plant growth (Green House, Container, Vertical Farm).
3. Excellent understanding about plant nutritional requirements, plant nutrient interactions, new fertigation solutions, root zone response to different ions and minerals and their effect on plant growth. Quick detection and diagnosis of nutrient deficiency in plants and suggesting required mitigation is essential.
4. A very good understanding of plant biochemistry, plant biology & growth processes, photobiology, interaction of plant nutrients, lighting and other environmental factors.
5. In-depth understanding about new fertigation systems, crop sensors, plant root microbe interaction, novel substrates for plant growth are essential.
6. Nutrient chemistry, water chemistry, fertigation solutions condition for specific plant types. Nutrient deficiency detection and diagnosis.
7. Excellent understanding of closed loop fertigation systems, nutrient balance, dosing and fertigation chemistry.
8. Designing new fertigation solutions, dosing and conditioned delivery of nutrient for specific plant types and plant growth stages.
9. Ability to grow plants in indoor conditions. Good insight into the environmental inputs (Light, nutrients, temperature, humidity) affecting crop growth.
10. Running crop physiological & biochemical assays, crop growth assays.
11. MS Office (Excel & PowerPoint), R, Python, AI databases, any additional tool like Smartsheet is desirable.

We are looking for someone with a ‘Can Do’ attitude, who is able to troubleshoot complex problems and has an innovative mindset. You have the ability to communicate clearly and build strong relationships with others and demonstrate cooperative behaviour.

IGS is focused on delivering innovative solutions to enable our customers to sustainably grow high-quality crops all year round. This is made possible by a highly inclusive, empowered, constructive, challenging and team-driven culture. However, we are still a business and people like you deserve to be well rewarded for your passion, energy, commitment and effort. Your base salary is accompanied by core benefits including; 7 weeks’ holiday, solid pension, opt-in Private Health Care, company sick pay, Income Protection, Life Assurance x 4 of basic salary, Lifestyle & Recognition benefits and personal development/training funding.

Please apply via our website.