Senior Research Associate - Seed Science

Iowa Ag; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

PTO & well-being pay

Parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Retirement plan

Job summary

Vylor is seeking a Senior Research Associate to manage the global seed quality testing program for precommercial material across crops, ensuring data is analysis-ready and supports risk and advancement decisions. You will translate seed quality data into actionable guidelines and serve as the technical authority on seed quality in corn and other crops.

You will lead global teams, design experiments, and mentor a direct report while collaborating with R&D, Production, and Commercial stakeholders

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Agronomy, Crop or Seed Science or related field.
• 5+ years of relevant experience planning and managing research programs.
• Experience with mixed-model analysis and experimental design principles.
• Experience managing data pipelines and quality control in research systems.
• Strong statistical/data analysis skills and multi-year data interpretation.
• Excellent communication across diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Direct global seed quality testing across crops and locations with robust data governance.
• Lead corn stress-vigor methodology and set advancement criteria and risk thresholds.
• Analyze parental seed data to flag high-risk germplasm and score traits.
• Plan multi-location field trials using precision ag, analytics, and imaging tools.
• Diagnose seed quality issues and provide mitigation recommendations.
• Present findings at forums and train teams; mentor junior staff.
• Supervise one direct report and assist budget planning.

Skills

Statistical analysis (R)

Experimental design

Field trials

Data pipelines

Communication

Project management

Industry knowledge

Education

Master's degree in Agronomy, Crop or Seed Science

Job description

### Job Details#### Job Title:Senior Research Associate - Seed Science#### Location:,, ,#### Company:#### Industry Sector:#### Industry Type:#### Career Type:#### Job Type:Full Time#### Minimum Years Experience Required:N/A#### Salary:Competitive### Get Job Alerts**Career Type:** Researcher/Research & Development**Country:** USAI agree to receive alerts from and to the .Your alert was created successfully.x## General Alert Saved* The listings below are jobs matching the criteria you've selected for your General Alert on.Criteria selected was:* General alert saved for .* General alert notifications will be sent weekly on Monday.* Please note that you can only have one general alert active at any given time. Creating a new general alert will override an existing general alert.* Visit the to manage your alerts# Senior Research Associate - Seed Science| Number of Years Experience: | Minimum Education Completed: | || Education Major / Discipline Category: | Most Recent / Current Occupation: | |**Join Vylor - Powering the Future of Agriculture**Join us to help scale innovation globally and shape what's next in crop science.## **Job Purpose:**Manage the global seed quality testing program for precommercial material in corn and multiple crops, ensuring the resulting data is structured, validated, and positioned to support analyses that drive product scoring, advancement decisions, and seed production risk profiles. Translate seed quality trait characterization, vigor, and stress emergence data into actionable advancement and risk-management recommendations. Serve as the organization\"s technical authority on seed quality assessment in corn and a technical contributor in additional crops, providing consultation to R&D, Production, Quality, and Commercial stakeholders in major global markets.## Duties and Responsibilities:* **Global testing program & data stewardship (30%)** - Direct precommercial seed quality testing across crops and locations; design experiments, ensure analysis-ready data, run BLUP analyses, and supply data to analytics partners.* **Seed quality & vigor SME (20%)** - Own corn stress-vigor assay methodology, guide global teams on vigor, storage, and emergence risk, and set advancement criteria and risk thresholds.* **Trait characterization & product risk (20%)** - Analyze parental seed quality data to flag high-risk germplasm, score traits, and make advancement recommendations.* **Stress emergence field research (15%)** - Plan, coordinate, and analyze multi-location field trials using precision ag, analytics, and imaging tools.* **Root-cause investigations (5%)** - Diagnose emergence, vigor, storage, and biotech trait-related quality issues and recommend mitigation.* **Technical communication & training (5%)** - Present at forums and conferences and build seed quality capability across regions and functions.* **People leadership (5%)** - Supervise one direct report and interns, mentor talent, and support budget planning.## Problem Solving:* Sustains progress on long-cycle research and strategic initiatives while owning a cyclical global testing program with fixed deadlines and serving as the organization\"s on-demand technical resource for urgent seed quality and product performance issues.* Innovatively seeks and assimilates relevant data from multiple sources - research and non-research - and from diverse global stakeholders, frequently making defensible recommendations.## Decision Making:* Determines experimental and data structures for the global precommercial seed quality testing program, directly governing whether downstream analyses are valid and whether advancement decisions rest on sound data.* Sets and defends advancement criteria and risk thresholds that directly influence commercialization decisions, seed production risk profiles, and inventory risk exposure.## Required Qualifications:* Master\"s degree in Agronomy, Crop or Seed Science, Plant Breeding, Agricultural Research, or a related technical field, with 5+ years of relevant industry or research experience* Demonstrated success planning and managing agronomic or scientific research programs* Working knowledge of mixed-model analysis and the experimental design principles that support it* Experience managing research data pipelines - experiment setup, data loading, and quality control in enterprise research data systems* Demonstrated statistical and data analysis skills, including interpretation of multi-year datasets; proficiency in R or equivalent* Experience designing field research trials and interpreting field data* Excellent oral and written communication across diverse audiences and circumstances* Results-driven, with demonstrated capacity to influence within a matrixed organization and across functions* Strong people, organizational, and project prioritization skills* Strong record of innovation and applying new technology## Preferred Qualifications:* Advanced training or demonstrated depth in seed physiology, crop physiology, or seed science* Direct experience in seed quality, seed vigor assessment, or seed physiology* Experience across multiple crops - corn plus soybean, sunflower, canola, or sorghum* Experience scripting automation for data submission or processing workflows (R, Python, or equivalent)* Experience partnering with data science or predictive modeling teams as a data and domain resource* Familiarity with marker-trait association and genome-wide association methods* Experience building dashboards or decision-support tools**Benefits - How We'll Support You:*** Numerous development opportunities offered to build your skills* Be part of a company with a higher purpose and contribute to making the world a better place* Health benefits for you and your family on your first day of employment* Four weeks of paid time off and two weeks of well-being pay per year, plus paid holidays* Excellent parental leave which includes a minimum of 16 weeks for mother and father* Future planning with our competitive retirement savings plan and tuition reimbursement program* Learn more about our total rewards package here -* Check out life at Vylor!### Vylor is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to embracing our differences to enrich lives, advance innovation, and boost company performance. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, military or veteran status, pregnancy related conditions (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), disability or any other protected status in accordance with federal, state, or local laws.]]>To apply please click on APPLY TO THIS POSITIONJob Post Date: 10/28/26Here are some other jobs you may be interested in applying for.| | || - | - || Vylor Des Moines, Iowa | Vylor Des Moines, Iowa || Vylor Des Moines, Iowa | |8 people are interested in this job.