Sr. Scientist: Plant Physiology

Talent Acquisition Team; Al Ain; On-site; AED 300,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

ARC-Gen, a joint Center of Excellence for Abiotic Resilience and Crop Genomics initiative, seeks a Senior Scientist in Plant Physiology to lead projects addressing drought, heat, and salinity tolerance. You will design experiments, develop physiological assays, and translate findings into actionable strategies for crop improvement under abiotic stress.

You will work with cross-disciplinary teams to advance our understanding of plant responses and contribute to global food security and climate

Qualifications

• PhD in Plant Physiology or related field.
• Fluent in English.

Responsibilities

• Lead research projects in plant physiology to support abiotic stress tolerance in crops.
• Design and implement experiments to study physiological mechanisms and genetic control under abiotic stress.
• Develop and validate physiological assays for drought, heat, and salinity tolerance.
• Interpret data to link physiological traits with genetic drivers and regulatory networks.
• Collaborate with agronomy, molecular biology and breeding teams for pipeline integration.
• Mentor lab technicians and supervise phenotyping activities.

Skills

Plant physiology

Abiotic stress tolerance

High-throughput phenotyping

Data analysis

Experiment design

Mentoring

Education

PhD in Plant Physiology

Job description

Job Details

Job Title: Senior Scientist- Plant Physiology

Sector: Innovation Oasis

Department: Science and Research

Section: Plant health/ Physiology

Direct Reports To: Principal Scientist- Plant Physiology

Job Purpose

The Center of Excellence for Abiotic Resilience and Crop Genomics (ARC-Gen) is a partnership between Silal, the UAE’s leading agri-food and technology company, and Limagrain Vegetable Seeds (LVS), the world leader in Vegetable Seeds. This partnership is aiming to develop a world class research facility in UAE with state-of-the-art capabilities in plant physiology and gene editing, with the ultimate goal of enhancing crops’ ability to withstand extreme conditions such as heat, drought, and salinity.

As a Senior Scientist in Plant Physiology at ARC-Gen, you will participate in the execution and lead research projects in plant physiology to support crop improvement under abiotic stresses. This role involves designing and implementing experiments to understand plant physiological mechanisms and their genetic control, and translating findings into actionable strategies for abiotic resilience improvement in targeted crops.

Your work will contribute directly to global priorities such as food security, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience.

Key Responsibilities

Functional

• Explore, adopt and implement state-of-the-art technologies in plant physiology.


• Lead experimental design and execution to understand plant responses to abiotic stresses.


• Develop and validate physiological assays for traits such as drought, salt or heat tolerance.


• Interpret data to identify physiological traits linked to stress tolerance.


• Partner with other scientific teams to prioritize candidate genes based on physiological impact.


• Develop, validate and execute phenotyping protocols.


• Work closely with experts in other domains (agronomists, (pre-)breeders, molecular and cell biologists, biostatisticians, etc.) to integrate physiological insights into abiotic stress projects.


• Optimize phenotyping protocols.


• Prepare detailed reports and presentations to communicate results to internal teams and end users.


• Participate in collaborations and interact with external partners.

Project Leadership & Management

• Propose, design, and manage research projects.


• Act as an expert in your domain and collaborate across research areas for timely delivery.


• Drive innovation and continuous improvement to accelerate research processes.


• Ensure efficient transfer of deliverables and know-how to end users.

People Management

• Mentor and supervise lab technicians.

Stakeholder Management

Key Internal Stakeholders

• All Sectors, Departments and Offices


• Any other concerned internal stakeholders as required

Key External Stakeholders

• Concerned government, semi-government and private sector entities


• Any other concerned external stakeholders as required.

Required Qualification

Academic Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Plant Physiology or related field


• Fluent in English

Professional Experience

• Professional Experience of a minimum of 8+ Years.


• Demonstrated expertise in Plant Physiology, plant growth and reproduction.


• Deep understanding of Plant Physiology.


• Experience with high-throughput precision phenotyping is a plus.


• Excellent problem-solving and data analysis skills.

Competencies

Technical Competencies

• Stress Physiology Profiling: Designing and executing experiments to decode how plants metabolically and physically respond to drought, heat, and salinity. Expert


• Phenotyping Assay Development: Creating and validating precise physiological assays to quantify stress tolerance levels in candidate crop varieties. Expert


• Genotype-to-Trait Correlation: Interpreting complex datasets to link physiological phenotypes with their underlying genetic drivers and regulatory networks. Expert


• Precision Phenotyping Protocols: Developing and optimizing high-accuracy protocols to measure plant performance across various developmental stages. Expert


• Multidisciplinary Research Integration: Synthesizing physiological data with agronomy and molecular biology to prioritize genes for the gene-editing pipeline Expert