Laboratory Technician

Position Title: Laboratory Technician

Location: Johnston, IA 50131

Expected Duration: 12 months.

Hours:

Work shift 7:30AM - 4:00PM, M-F with rotational weekend work (approximately every 6th weekend, 7:30AM - 4:00PM) and rotational holidays required.

Bonus Structure:

$500 paid after 6 months, $1,000 paid after 12 months (repeats every year worker stays onsite)

Job Title:

Description:

• We are looking for a responsible and highly motivated Research Assistant to join the Controlled Environments Team. Here, you will help us grow what’s next. No matter what your role, you will be part of a team that is building the future of agriculture – solving the world’s food problems through innovation, technology, and putting people first. We have an exciting opportunity to join our team at our Johnston, Iowa four-acre, smoke-free research facility. This position will primarily assist with preparation and execution of routine duties such as seeding, pollinating, transplanting plants, watering, harvesting, tissue sampling, and data collection while maintaining a professional, clean, and safe work environment and meeting all compliance standards. We are looking for candidates who take initiative, love to learn, work hard, and have a stable work history.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Daily greenhouse plant care, including seeding, pollinating, transplanting, watering, harvesting, and seed handling for corn, soybean, wheat, canola and other crops.
• Punch or cut and store small samples of plant tissue and delivery for laboratory analysis. Carefully maintain sample identity for thousands of samples at a time while maintaining proper storage conditions.
• Assisting with experiments, collecting data, and maintaining records.
• Perform routine greenhouse sanitation tasks like discarding regulated material and removing waste.

Job Qualifications:

• High school diploma/GED required. Bachelor's degree in an agriculture, horticulture, plant physiology, molecular biology, entomology, plant pathology is preferred. Two or more years of related experience/equivalent amounts of relevant education and experience is preferred.
• Ability to pay close attention to detail and follow standard operating and safety/ergonomics protocols is essential.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills, a high degree of self-motivation, a positive attitude, and the ability to work well independently as well as a team member with minimal supervision.
• Basic computer skills preferred, including MS Office programs (Word, Excel, Outlook), and ability to gain competency with internally-developed research software.
• Must be able to stand and sit for long periods of time and lift up to 30 lbs. Must be able to tolerate hours of repetitive work in a warm, humid greenhouse with pollen present year-round.
• Must be able to walk the whole facility multiple times a day.
• Must be willing to work around common chemicals and comply with safety measures with said chemicals.
• We have a very strong safety culture and implement safety in everything that we do. You must follow all safety procedures.