Assistant Scientist - Tissue Culture

BALL HORTICULTURAL COMPANY•West Chicago, IL

5d•$19 - $21•Onsite

About The Position

The Tissue Culture (TC) Assistant Scientist supports Ball Helix TC Services by carrying out a variety of laboratory activities and helping supply high-quality TC plants for vegetative cutting production, seed production, and offshore TC production. The role requires attention to detail, flexibility, the ability to work in an interactive, goal-oriented team, and the ability to work with minimal daily supervision. The position maintains and propagates ELITE TC stock and customer orders, assists with initiating and re-initiating varieties, and helps prepare, pack, and ship TC plants worldwide. It also supports laboratory sustainability, cleanliness, and accurate inventory and pathogen-testing records. Work is performed in a sterile, climate-controlled indoor laboratory and office environment.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Well organized and detail oriented.
Ability to work in a sterile environment to keep plant cultures sterile.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Effective interpersonal and communication skills.
Does not smoke or use tobacco products because of the contamination threat of plant viruses related to these products.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 tools, including Outlook, Teams, Excel, and Word file management.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in a plant research or tissue culture laboratory, horticulture, or manufacturing/production role.
Associate degree or BSc in a relevant field.

Responsibilities

Maintain high-quality ELITE TC stock so it is available for production orders.
Build up and propagate TC plants for customer orders, ensuring high-quality plants are delivered in full and on time.
Assist with re-initiating varieties into TC to keep ELITE TC stock current and true-to-type.
Assist with the preparation, packing, and shipping of TC plant orders worldwide.
Participate in the laboratory sustainability program by reusing, reducing, and recycling polypropylene TC vessels and glass tubes with polypropylene caps.
Perform light laboratory cleaning duties to maintain cleanliness in the laboratory and culture rooms.
Use the TC Laboratory Inventory Management System (LIMS) to track TC plant stock inventory and associated pathogen-testing records.
Assist with first-time initiation of varieties into TC, including new crops, to establish ELITE TC stock for breeding and product development pipelines.