Agricultural Scientist

Halter; Auckland; On-site; NZD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Halter is seeking an exceptionally skilled Scientist to help shape the next generation of predictive grazing systems. You will work with machine learning engineers, software engineers, and product managers to translate agricultural science into impactful, data-driven products for farmers.

You will identify opportunities to validate ideas, design experiments, and ensure models remain scientifically meaningful while collaborating with external researchers and internal teams in Auckland.

Qualifications

• MSc/PhD in Agricultural Science or related discipline.
• Significant experience applying agricultural science to real-world problems.
• Strong understanding of grazing systems and agricultural production.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex scientific concepts to multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to influence technical decisions through expertise rather than authority.

Responsibilities

• Provide agricultural scientific expertise to shape predictive grazing-based systems.
• Translate biological understanding into hypotheses evaluated by data and ML.
• Guide model development to ensure predictions are biologically realistic.
• Design and conduct scientific investigations to improve model performance.
• Collaborate with ML Engineers, Data Ops, product teams and researchers.

Skills

Scientific reasoning

Data interpretation

Excellent communication

Analytical skills

Influence technical decisions

Education

MSc/PhD in Agricultural Science

Job description

About Halter

At Halter, we’re on a mission to enable farmers and graziers to run the most productive and sustainable operations. Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional practices. Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break? No quad bikes, no dogs, no fences. Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace. People say it looks like magic. Our customers are revolutionizing grazing with Halter. It's changing lives and transforming an industry. People join Halter to do meaningful work. By joining us you’ll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance. Our team out-think, out-work and out-care. We’re committed to delivering real change in the world - this isn’t easy, and in truth, we love that it’s hard.

We’re backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Founders Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, BOND, DCVC, Blackbird, Promus Ventures, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Icehouse ventures.

To find out more, visit our LinkedIn & Instagram.

At Halter we’re looking to push the boundaries of what is possible in agricultural science, in order to provide tools to farmers and ranchers to enable them to operate more effectively. This translates into novel solutions to physical-world modelling that deliver unparalleled

What you’ll do

You'll provide agricultural scientific expertise to help shape the next generation of predictive systems for grazing-based agriculture. Working alongside Machine Learning Engineers, Software Engineers and Product Managers, you'll translate agricultural science into innovative products that deliver measurable value to farmers.

You'll identify opportunities where science can improve our understanding of farming systems, design experiments to validate new ideas, and help ensure our predictive models remain biologically meaningful.

Scientific expertise

• Apply agricultural science to improve existing predictive systems and identify opportunities for new products.

• Translate biological understanding into hypotheses that can be evaluated through data and machine learning.

• Provide scientific guidance during model development, ensuring predictions remain biologically realistic.

• Interpret model behaviour and help identify opportunities for improvement.

Research and experimentation

• Design and execute scientific investigations that improve model performance and product capability.

• Identify new measurements, datasets and signals that could enhance predictive systems.

• Define measurement protocols for capture of validation models, to facilitate training and evaluation of our models

• Evaluate emerging agricultural research and assess its applicability to our products.

• Contribute to the scientific validation of new modelling approaches.

Collaboration

• Partner closely with Machine Learning Engineers throughout the model development lifecycle.

• Work with Data Operations to define data requirements and improve dataset quality.

• Support Product Managers in evaluating scientific opportunities and trade-offs.

• Collaborate with customer-facing teams to understand field observations and convert them into research questions.

• Build relationships with external researchers and subject matter experts where appropriate.

What success looks like

During your first several months, success will be measured by your scientific impact and your ability to become a trusted partner to our modelling teams.

• Developing a deep understanding of our predictive systems, data pipelines and modelling approaches.

• Building trusted relationships across engineering, product and customer teams.

• Identifying meaningful opportunities where agricultural science can improve product performance.

• Contributing scientific insight that influences modelling decisions and product direction.

• Defining valuable new data collection and experimentation opportunities.

• Helping establish effective ways of incorporating scientific thinking into our product development process.

Must-have experience

• MSc or PhD in Agricultural Science, Agronomy, Animal Science, Plant Science or a related discipline.

• Significant experience applying agricultural science to solve real-world problems.

• Strong understanding of grazing systems and agricultural production.

• Experience designing, conducting and interpreting scientific investigations.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex scientific concepts to multidisciplinary teams.

• Ability to influence technical decisions through expertise rather than authority.

Strongly preferred

• Experience working with data science, predictive modelling or machine learning applications.

• Experience within agricultural technology or precision agriculture.

• Strong quantitative and analytical skills.

• Experience working with large datasets to support scientific investigations.

Nice-to-have

• Experience in a commercial technology company or startup.

• Scientific publications or recognised technical contributions.

• Existing relationships within the agricultural research community.

• Experience collaborating with software engineering or product development teams.

• Familiarity with remote sensing, sensor technologies or digital agriculture.

Join our team

Halter is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace — a place where we can each be ourselves and do the best work of our lives. Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and under-represented groups of candidates tend to only apply when they meet every requirement. We’d love to chat to see if you’ll be an epic fit!

Why our team loves working at Halter:

• Work that genuinely matters. Every now and again a company comes along that transforms an entire industry and leaves the world in a better place. Our team gets to be part of something truly meaningful, helping farmers improve their livelihoods, spend more time with their families, and build more sustainable operations.

• Spectacular people solving hard problems. Our culture is designed for talented people to do work that changes lives. The team is filled with diverse, kind, and driven people who push each other to do their best work. You'll be thrown into the deep end, tackling complex challenges and building something tangible that solves real problems.

• You'll grow here. Autonomy, mastery, and learning define how we work. You'll have the freedom to work on interesting problems, master new skills, and continuously develop yourself, both through your role and our $1,000 personal growth fund.

• This isn't easy, and we love that it's hard. Working at Halter will be the most rewarding and the most challenging work of your life. We move fast, take bold bets, and work hard to reshape an entire industry. As one team member put it: "Joining Halter is a bit like strapping yourself to a rocket ship, but it's an epic journey to be a part of!"