Global Precision Phenotyping Lead (Iowa)

Corteva Agriscience • Franklin, TN

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The incumbent leads and defines Seed Product Development strategy for applying advanced phenotyping to maximize plant breeding value, translating scientific and technological capabilities into clear, prioritized actions that accelerate product development. This senior role focuses on delivering the greatest impact phenotyping solutions by supervising and partnering with teams that discover, validate and deploy novel phenotyping approaches. This position sets the strategic direction for end‑to‑end phenotyping systems, from data acquisition through modeling and insight generation, ensuring outputs are scientifically robust, scalable, and directly tied to business value. Rather than directly executing all components, this role orchestrates delivery with 3rd parties, business partners and a team of technical innovation developers, ensuring concepts are translated into practical, field-ready solutions. The role drives alignment of phenotyping priorities across the seed product development organization, balancing long-term innovation with near-term needs. It prioritizes investments and initiatives based on expected impact, ensuring resources are focused on the highest-value opportunities. The incumbent guides experimental strategies to optimize data quality, relevance, and usability at scale, with a clear line of sight to the needs of the stakeholders. In addition, the position leads the evaluation and integration of emerging technologies within a strategic framework, ensuring innovation efforts are targeted, actionable, and compatible with operational realities. It serves as a key translator between technical development teams and business stakeholders, converting complex outputs into decision-ready guidance and actionable deployment plans. Above all this role acts as a strategic R&D leader and integrator, ensuring the right value-rich phenotyping capabilities are not only developed, but effectively applied, connecting technical innovation to measurable breeding value by advancing and driving data informed decisions. The incumbent should be highly driven and self-motivated; passionate about unlocking unrealized value, deliverables focused, and rich in collaboration and partnership

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Plant Breeding, Quantitative Genetics, Plant Science, Agronomy, Agricultural/Biosystems Engineering, Data Science, or a closely related field; OR M.S. in a related field with equivalent depth of applied experience.
• 10+ years of progressive R&D experience in plant breeding, phenotyping, or applied agricultural science.
• 5+ years in a strategic and/or people-leadership capacity.
• Demonstrated track record of translating scientific and technological capabilities into deployed, value-generating solutions.
• Deep expertise in plant phenotyping across the full pipeline — from data acquisition through platform development, trait deployment, modeling, analytics, and insight generation.
• Strong working knowledge of plant breeding principles and a clear understanding of how phenotypic data drives breeding value and product advancement.
• Proven ability to design experimental strategies that optimize data quality, relevance, and usability at scale.
• Demonstrated capability to evaluate, validate, and integrate emerging technologies within real-world operational constraints.
• Proven experience defining and executing R&D strategy, including prioritizing investments and initiatives based on expected business impact.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing technical teams, and orchestrating delivery through teams, business partners, and third parties (rather than direct execution alone).
• Experience driving cross-functional alignment within a complex R&D organization, balancing long-term innovation with near-term delivery.
• Exceptional ability to translate complex technical outputs into clear, decision-ready guidance and actionable deployment plans for diverse stakeholders.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and partnership skills, including managing external vendors and collaborators.
• A consistent, data-informed approach to decision-making.
• Highly driven, self-motivated, and deliverables-focused.
• Passionate about unlocking unrealized value and about collaboration and partnership.

Nice To Haves

• Global or multi-region R&D leadership experience across diverse crops, environments, or geographies.
• Hands-on familiarity with precision phenotyping technologies such as UAV/drone-based imaging, ground- and field-based sensors, remote sensing, hyperspectral/multispectral imaging, and high-throughput phenotyping platforms.
• Proficiency with data science and analytical tools and languages (e.g., Python, R), and experience applying machine learning, AI, or advanced statistical modeling to phenotypic data.
• Knowledge of genomics, genomic prediction, and the integration of phenotypic and genomic data in breeding programs.
• Experience managing budgets, capital investments, and external research partnerships or contracts.
• Familiarity with data architecture, pipelines, and infrastructure required to scale phenotyping data systems enterprise-wide.
• Demonstrated success bringing novel R&D concepts from proof-of-concept through to operational, field-ready deployment.
• Track record of publications, patents, or recognized scientific/industry contributions in phenotyping or breeding.

Responsibilities

• Lead and define Seed Product Development strategy for applying advanced phenotyping to maximize plant breeding value.
• Translate scientific and technological capabilities into clear, prioritized actions that accelerate product development.
• Supervise and partner with teams to discover, validate, and deploy novel phenotyping approaches.
• Set the strategic direction for end-to-end phenotyping systems, from data acquisition through modeling and insight generation.
• Ensure phenotyping outputs are scientifically robust, scalable, and directly tied to business value.
• Orchestrate delivery with 3rd parties, business partners, and a team of technical innovation developers.
• Ensure concepts are translated into practical, field-ready solutions.
• Drive alignment of phenotyping priorities across the seed product development organization, balancing long-term innovation with near-term needs.
• Prioritize investments and initiatives based on expected impact.
• Guide experimental strategies to optimize data quality, relevance, and usability at scale.
• Lead the evaluation and integration of emerging technologies within a strategic framework.
• Serve as a key translator between technical development teams and business stakeholders.
• Convert complex outputs into decision-ready guidance and actionable deployment plans.
• Act as a strategic R&D leader and integrator, ensuring phenotyping capabilities are developed and effectively applied.
• Connect technical innovation to measurable breeding value by advancing and driving data-informed decisions.

Benefits

• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree