YOUR TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary responsibilities of this role, Trait Interactions Assessment Scientist, are to:

• The Trait Interactions Assessment Scientist is a critical role in the successful launch of commercial products from the world’s largest & most successful trait pipeline, together with the most diverse & elite germplasm globally across crops and will be a member of the North America (NA) Trait Deployment team in the Bayer Crop Science Plant Breeding organization;
• Design experiments and use statistically sound methodologies to evaluate germplasm x trait interactions (GxT), trait x trait (TxT) interactions and under varying environmental conditions (GxTxE) with potential to impact commercial product performance and realized genetic gain;
• Discover & establish early pipeline screening protocols, leveraging historical data-mining, genomics and analytics to detect and/or predict germplasm sensitivity to GxT interactions;
•  Develop, track and report KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to assess presence, magnitude, variability and heritability of GxT interactions;
•  Analyze and interpret large, multi-year genomic and agronomic data sets to drive meaningful insights and influence critical business decisions;
• Engage cross-functional product development teams to understand new product concepts, transgenic and native traits in the pipeline, modes of action, trait stacking strategy & timelines for hand-off, regulatory approvals and commercialization;
• Define and communicate hand-off data package and knowledge transfer required to facilitate experimental design planning for trait interactions assessment;
• Proactively evaluate and incorporate new breeding technologies into design protocols;
• Align and partner with key stakeholders upstream and downstream on design strategies & outcomes.

WHO YOU ARE

Your success will be driven by your demonstration of our LIFE values.  More specifically related to this position, Bayer seeks an incumbent who possesses the following:

Required Qualifications:

• PhD with minimum of 4 years relevant experience or Master’s Degree with minimum of 8 years relevant experience or a Bachelor’s Degree with a minimum of 10 years relevant experience;
• Demonstrated expertise in quantitative/forward/reverse genetics, QTL/haplotype mapping or molecular breeding technologies (i.e., GWS, GWAS, MAS);
• Strong background in experimental design and statistical analysis, processing large datasets, applying pre-processing treatments and conditions to transform data into insights;
• Experience in design, set up and management of agricultural research trials and field-based techniques;
• Demonstrated computational skills with R or related statistical programming package;
• Demonstrated ability for independent project management and leading technical teams through successful project;
• Excellent communication skills; ability to write and present results to both technical and non-technical audiences and relate to business impact;
• Ability to thrive in a team-based work environment;
• Ability to travel 15% for meetings, conferences, and field-based observations;

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ph.D. in Plant/Animal Breeding, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Plant Physiology, Crop Science, Biostatistics and proven working experience with independent experimental design and statistical analysis in a research or industry setting;
• Experience with experimental design and management for USDA or EPA-regulated field and agronomic trials in hybrid and/or varietal crops is highly desired;
• Experience with relational databases and SQL, Pipeline Pilot or related;
• Experience evaluating epistatic interactions or GxT, TxT interactions in crops, particularly corn, soybean, cotton and/or canola;
• Preferred Proficiency with RESTful APIs.

Domestic relocation may be available for this role.