NA Trait Introgression Applied Genetics Scientist

Syngenta Group•Nampa, ID

16h•Onsite

About The Position

At Syngenta, our goal is to build the most collaborative and trustworthy team in agriculture, providing top-quality seeds and innovative crop protection solutions that improve farmers' success. To support this mission, Syngenta’s Seeds Research Traits Team is seeking a NA Trait Introgression Applied Genetics Scientist in Nampa, ID. This role will be responsible for the introgression of traits into Corn germplasm, with the main goal of delivering high-quality traited elite genetics on time to feed the late-stage breeding pipeline, contributing to the commercial launch of high-performance products in the North America market segments. The NA Trait Introgression Applied Genetics Scientist (NA TI AGS) will support and actively contribute to the NA TID Team and the North America Seeds Development organization by: i. enabling and deploying molecular and computational solutions to increase the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of trait introgression and delivery processes; ii. owning the execution, management, and reporting of some of the key activities involved in such processes.

Requirements

Ph.D. degree, or M.S. degree with 2 to 5 years of experience.
Molecular Biology, Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, and/or Quantitative Genetics background required.
Plant Sciences, Plant Biology, and/or Molecular Breeding knowledge and/or experience highly desired.
Experience working with large datasets, both phenotypic and molecular (DNA).
Excellent understanding of Statistics and Experimental Design, and desirably Quantitative Genetics principles.
Knowledge and experience with modeling, simulations, predictive analytics, and AI algorithms.
Knowledge of genotyping/sequencing technologies, and hands-on experience processing and analyzing data derived from (at least one of) them.
Knowledge of and experience with standard tools for phenotyping and molecular data analysis.
Familiarity with R and ability to program in R and/or other languages (Python) required.
Experience and minimum skills with user interface (UI)/computational app development software.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills required.

Nice To Haves

Data engineering and data visualization skills (Spotfire, Tableau, R Shiny, PowerBI) are highly desired.
Knowledge of plant biology and plant breeding.
Knowledge of genotyping and sequencing technologies.
Knowledge of one or more programming languages.
Knowledge of predictive and AI algorithms.
Experience in molecular biology and quantitative genetics.
Familiarity with R and/or other platforms for statistical computing and graphics, and programing skills in R, Python, and/or other languages.
Product development focus, customer-oriented, able to apply basic concepts of molecular biology and plant genetics and translate them into accelerated genetic gain and maximized elite product performance.

Responsibilities

Contribute to the NA TID Team by delivering high-performing traited elite genetics to accelerate genetic gain.
Develop and improve computational predictive and simulation models to test "what-if" scenarios, aiming at the optimization of Corn conversion strategy to increase efficiency, quality, and success.
Optimize probe-based and sequence-based genotyping activities, contributing to activities such as data assessment and quality-control, marker panel updates, and identification of targets for new candidate traits and loci of interest.
Implement algorithms and automated solutions, including Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven systems, to digitize critical workflows within the NA TID.
Partner with cross-functional scientists to develop and implement computational solutions, to efficiently execute the various activities involved in the TID process, such as conversion strategy assignment, trait donor selection, plant selection, and conversion project advancement.
Effectively partner with the NA TID Inbred Conversion Analyst, and provide support with conversion project analysis and reporting during peak seasonal windows.
Contribute to the delivery of targets for established business KPIs, and manage the tracking and reporting of strategic KPIs in collaboration with the Nampa TCA Operations Team.