Address
Form of workResearch Technician - Perennial Wheat
Who We Are + What We Do
The Land Institute co-leads the global movement for perennial, diverse, regenerative grain agriculture at a scale that matches the enormity of the intertwined climate, water, and food security crises. An independent 501c3 non-profit founded in 1976, the organization seeks to reconcile the human economy with nature's economy, starting with food. The transdisciplinary team of scientists, together with global partners, are developing new perennial grain crops, like Kernza©, and diverse cropping systems that function within nature's limits while researching the social transformation required for a just, perennial human future.
How You’d Fit In + Stand Out
The Perennial Wheat program is dedicated to the development of new Perennial Wheat cultivars as a viable crop for wheat farmers. We generate new cultivars by crossing wheat cultivars with various wheatgrass species and conducting selection in the greenhouse and field with the aid of molecular markers. The latest breeding lines provide excellent materials for further breeding and comprehensive studies to address some key issues in Perennial Wheat breeding. They have shown greater improvement in longevity, grain yield, as well as agronomic traits.
This Research Technician will assist the lead scientist primarily in the implementation and management of greenhouse and field experiments. Depending on experience, expertise, and interest, this person may choose to develop your own personalized research projects in areas such as field breeding, wide hybridization, and molecular breeding.
Primary Responsibilities + Expectations
- Assist the lead scientist with implementing research projects and maintaining collaborative partnerships with researchers at TLI and other institutions.
- Assist with experimental design and management in the field and greenhouse.
- Lead or assist with planting, harvesting, and threshing samples for field and greenhouse experiments.
- Make crosses to create new wheat and wheatgrass hybrids in greenhouse.
- Conduct tissue culture to rescue hybrid embryos when necessary.
- Assist with data collection and statistical analysis of experiments.
- Collect plant tissue, extract DNA or RNA, perform PCR assays, and assist with sequence analysis occasionally.
- Correspond with collaborators to send samples and information.
- Assist with purchasing supplies and maintaining budget records.
- Supervise interns, research assistants, and volunteers.
- Engage with visitors by leading guided tours and participating in community and scientific outreach or presentations.
Diversity + Inclusion
- Participate in The Land Institute’s diversity initiatives.
- Develop, maintain, and honor relationships with diverse groups and people.
- Build relationships with diverse partners with a mind toward further collaboration.
Organizational Competencies
- Mission Driven: You are passionate about the mission of The Land Institute and are interested in aligning your skills and personal genius to benefit this work.
- Courageous: You do not retreat or shy away from hard things. You face challenges and conflict with professionalism, grace, and resolve.
- A Boundary Spanner: You bring an interdisciplinary skill set and you model self-awareness in your own preferences. You are motivated to always be learning and you adapt to span boundaries with people across a range of different perspectives.
- Inspiring and Inspired: You are inspired by the people around you, finding and harnessing the genius in your colleagues to meet the organizational objectives, and you are inspiring to others through example and your own genius applied.
- Growth Mindset: You have the vulnerability to know what you don’t know, admit your flaws, and learn from others to grow and develop yourself and the organization.
- A Creative Collaborator: You believe in the power of a diverse collective to generate ideas and solutions. You excel at strategic thinking, being open to new perspectives, and managing innovation. You bring a playful, positive approach to the work and like meeting new people and deepening connections with those you already know.
- Excited by change: You embrace nascent and evolving situations and enjoy engaging new people, ideas, and possibilities. You think about change holistically: internal, external, organizational, and cultural. You like iterating systems, building efficiency and operationalizing design. You are willing to jump in and contribute to new projects as needed.
Who You Are
- Bachelor’s degree or above in an agriculture relevant field or equivalent relevant experience.
- Excellent communication, organization, and collaboration skills.
- Willing to work in unpleasant weather conditions such as summer heat to ensure urgent tasks can be completed in time.
- Must have a valid driver’s license or be willing to get a license.
Qualifications That Could Help You Succeed
- Experience in agronomy, plant breeding, or genetics.
- Experience in the scientific research of field crops including wheat.
- Experience operating farm equipment such as tractors, combines, and threshing machines.
- Experience in greenhouse management.
Hours
Routinely work forty hours per week. Some early morning, evening or weekend working hours will be needed for weather or time sensitive tasks/experiments.
Location + Travel
This position will be based on-site at The Land Institute’s main campus in Salina, Kansas. No frequent travel is required except between field sites in the immediate area.
Environmental + Working Conditions
- Prolonged period of sitting or standing in a greenhouse to emasculate or pollinate wheat plants.
- Prolonged period of working in the field, sometimes in extreme heat.
- Willingness to train and safely apply pesticide treatments to plants as needed.
- Work in pest infested areas in greenhouse.
- Work in laboratory research settings - follow safety and general lab protocol, work with chemicals that are common for DNA and RNA extraction, wide hybridization, and mutation breeding.
- Fine motor skills/Good eyesight for emasculations, pollinations, embryo rescues, colchicine treatment plant preparation with scissors, tweezers, and scalpels.
- Must be able to lift heavy seed bags (<25 pounds) at a time.
Compensation + Benefits
The Land Institute offers an excellent benefits package and competitive salary commensurate with education and experience.
The salary range for this position is $42,000-60,000 annually.
● Remote-friendly work environment
● Paid parental leave
● Competitive, equitable compensation
● 403(b) Retirement
● 403(b) Employer contributions
● Health Insurance
● Dental Insurance
● Vision Insurance
● Employer Provided Life Insurance
● Flexible Spending Account
● Dependent Care
● Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance
● Voluntary Life Insurance
● Accidental Insurance
● Critical Illness Insurance
● Employee Assistance Program
● Paid holidays
● Generous paid time off
● Complete laptop workstation and set up for remote work
To Apply - Upload the following paragraphs as an attachment by clicking apply below (as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf).
1. Two to three paragraphs telling us why you are interested in this position and how you believe you meet the qualifications. Please specifically address these topics in relationship to the role you are applying for; do not send a general cover letter.
2. Your work/skills/training history, resume/CV as an attachment OR link to your LinkedIn profile.
The Land Institute is an equal opportunity employer and embraces the opportunity to provide employment to qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. We are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
