Remote Senior Plant Breeder - Genomics & High-Yield Crops

Placements24; Noord-Kaap; Hybrid; ZAR 800,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Bonuses

Remote work

Professional development

Generous paid time off

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Plant Breeder to drive crop genetics research and development in a fully remote role based in South Africa. You will lead programs to create high-yielding, nutritionally improved and pest-resilient crops, collaborating with a global team of scientists.

The ideal candidate holds a PhD with 8+ years in progressive plant breeding, demonstrates leadership and a track record of releasing new varieties, and is fluent in English.

Qualifications

• PhD required in Plant Breeding, Genetics, Agronomy, or related field.
• Minimum 8 years in plant breeding R&D.
• Expertise in quantitative genetics, molecular breeding and statistics.
• Proven track record of developing/releasing crop varieties.
• Strong leadership, communication and project management.
• Experience with large-scale genomic data analysis.
• Fluency in English; other languages are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead advanced plant breeding programs for key crops.
• Develop and implement breeding strategies using molecular techniques.
• Identify germplasm with desirable traits for evaluation.
• Oversee field trials and data collection with robust experimental design.
• Analyze genetic and phenotypic data using statistics and bioinformatics.
• Collaborate with global teams including molecular biologists and agronomists.
• Publish research and present at conferences; mentor junior scientists.
• Contribute to IP development through patents.
• Stay updated on cutting-edge breeding and genetics.

Skills

Leadership

Plant breeding

Genetics

Molecular breeding

Statistics

Bioinformatics

Project management

Communication

Remote work

Education

PhD in Plant Breeding/Genetics/Agronomy

Tools

Genomics tools

Bioinformatics tools

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Plant Breeder to drive crop genetics research and development in a fully remote role based in South Africa. You will lead programs to create high-yielding, nutritionally improved and pest-resilient crops, collaborating with a global team of scientists.

The ideal candidate holds a PhD with 8+ years in progressive plant breeding, demonstrates leadership and a track record of releasing new varieties, and is fluent in English.