Global Research Lead - Entomology & Weed Science

UPL•Cary, NC

13d

About The Position

The Global Research Lead, Entomology and Weed Science provides scientific and people leadership for UPL's Late-Stage Discovery and Early Development Program across insecticides and herbicides, spanning conventional and biological technologies. The role sets global research strategy, builds fit-for-purpose laboratory, insectary, greenhouse, and field screening programs, and converts biological evidence into clear advancement, optimization, partnership, or stop decisions. A central responsibility within the OpenAg model is to scientifically evaluate and validate external technologies, define their technical differentiation, development potential, risks, and evidence gaps, and help the business articulate a credible agronomic and commercial value proposition. This leader manages and develops multidisciplinary teams, connects global category priorities with regional agronomic needs, and ensures high-quality, reproducible data packages that support product concepts from late-stage discovery through field proof of concept.

Requirements

Scientific and people leadership for UPL's Late-Stage Discovery and Early Development Program across insecticides and herbicides.
Setting global research strategy.
Building laboratory, insectary, greenhouse, and field screening programs.
Converting biological evidence into clear advancement, optimization, partnership, or stop decisions.
Scientifically evaluating and validating external technologies.
Defining technical differentiation, development potential, risks, and evidence gaps of external technologies.
Articulating a credible agronomic and commercial value proposition for external technologies.
Managing and developing multidisciplinary teams.
Connecting global category priorities with regional agronomic needs.
Ensuring high-quality, reproducible data packages.
Supporting product concepts from late-stage discovery through field proof of concept.
Translating business, grower, resistance-management, and portfolio needs into a balanced entomology and weed science roadmap.
Defining stage-appropriate evidence requirements.
Providing technical leadership across conventional chemistry, biologicals, combinations, formulations, seed treatments, and enabling technologies.
Directing development, validation, standardization, and continuous improvement of screening methods.
Establishing quality, stewardship, biosafety, permit, recordkeeping, and data-integrity expectations.
Coaching and developing scientists and technical staff.
Setting clear priorities and strengthening experimental judgment.
Building succession and cross-training across disciplines.
Allocating people, facilities, budget, test organisms, germplasm, and field resources.
Balancing speed, quality, and cost.
Building productive networks with regional development teams, universities, CROs, technology partners, and professional societies.
Leading rigorous evaluation and validation of external technologies and partnerships.
Synthesizing complex datasets into concise technical positions, risk assessments, and decision-ready recommendations.
Anticipating technical gaps, emerging pests and weeds, resistance trends, assay limitations, and field-translation risks.
Initiating experiments that reduce uncertainty early.

Nice To Haves

Experience with biologicals and traditional crop protection solutions.
Experience with OpenAg model.
Experience with conventional chemistry, biologicals, combinations, formulations, seed treatments, and enabling technologies.
Experience with externally sourced concepts.

Responsibilities

Lead global late-stage discovery, early-development, and portfolio decisions
Translate business, grower, resistance-management, and portfolio needs into a balanced entomology and weed science roadmap spanning late-stage discovery and early development.
Define stage-appropriate evidence requirements and recommend advance, refine, partner, or stop decisions based on scientific quality, technical differentiation, development feasibility, risk, and potential value.
Provide technical leadership across conventional chemistry, biologicals, combinations, formulations, seed treatments, and enabling technologies, including externally sourced concepts evaluated through OpenAg.
Build and govern screening platforms from lab to field
Direct development, validation, standardization, and continuous improvement of insect, mite, weed, crop-safety, dose-response, spectrum, residual, rainfastness, resistance, and environmental-condition screens.
Ensure laboratory, insectary, controlled-environment, greenhouse, and field methods are biologically relevant, reproducible, statistically sound, and transferable across sites and partners.
Establish quality, stewardship, biosafety, permit, recordkeeping, and data-integrity expectations for internal and external studies.
Lead people, capability, and external research networks
Coach and develop scientists and technical staff; set clear priorities, strengthen experimental judgment, and build succession and cross-training across both disciplines.
Allocate people, facilities, budget, test organisms, germplasm, and field resources against portfolio priorities while balancing speed, quality, and cost.
Build productive networks with regional development teams, universities, CROs, technology partners, and professional societies; lead rigorous evaluation and validation of external technologies and partnerships.
Integrate science, business insight, and execution
Synthesize complex datasets into concise technical positions, risk assessments, and decision-ready recommendations for R&D, Category, Portfolio, Regulatory, IP, Formulation, Manufacturing, and Commercial stakeholders.
Help the business define each technology’s agronomic value proposition, technical differentiation, development fit, evidence needs, and key uncertainties.
Anticipate technical gaps, emerging pests and weeds, resistance trends, assay limitations, and field-translation risks; initiate experiments that reduce uncertainty early.