Potato Breeding Technician

PepsiCo•Town of Stella, WI

1d•$54,700 - $82,050•Onsite

About The Position

PepsiCo is seeking a motivated, hands-on breeding technician with a passion for plants and experience in a greenhouse, nursery, or horticultural/agricultural production environment. This role will execute breeding activities primarily for potatoes and oats, with potential expansion to other crops, at a PepsiCo breeding facility in Rhinelander, WI. The technician will be crucial in the propagation, cultivation, maintenance, and evaluation of breeding materials, ensuring healthy plant growth and successful breeding operations. This position involves close collaboration with breeders, assistant breeders, and other technicians to execute breeding activities and maintain high-quality plant production in greenhouses, large walk-in growth chambers, field environments, and seed storage facilities. The role is part of the Agro Raw Materials Discovery function within PepsiCo Foods R&D and reports to the on-site breeders.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience in collecting data from plants and curating them for consistency and quality prior to uploading in company databases required.
Demonstrated ability to manage activities within assigned resources/budgets.
Demonstrate the ability to distinguish mission‑critical priorities from nonessential tasks; exercises sound judgment in identifying the next most impactful actions; maintains focus on high‑value initiatives while appropriately deferring or eliminating less critical activities.
Excellent communication and networking ability with the local PepsiCo community and the remote team.
Excellent ability to utilize basic software and communication technologies such as Word, Excel, Power Point, Webex, Outlook, etc., and to input or query data from relational databases.
Proven ability to work closely with colleagues on activities with a high degree of flexibility and comfortable with change. Ability to be an ambassador of change and to build consensus among others who can enable activities and projects at the local facility.
Ability to balance the need to deliver on time, on target, within resources, and with expected quality and quantity.

Nice To Haves

BS preferred in Horticulture, Plant Science, Plant Breeding, Agronomy, Greenhouse Management, Crop Science, Biology, Agricultural Science, or a related discipline.
Relevant experience in an active breeding/genetics program, greenhouse, nursery, plant production, or horticulture is preferred, but all qualified applicants will be considered.
Experience with plant propagation techniques such as seeding, transplanting, cuttings, grafting, or vegetative propagation is highly desirable.
Demonstrated passion for working with plants and maintaining healthy, high-quality crops in controlled-environment systems.
Experience monitoring plant health, diagnosing crop issues, and performing routine plant care activities.
Experience collecting plant data and maintaining accurate records is preferred.
Familiarity with greenhouse environmental controls, irrigation systems, fertility programs, pest management, and crop maintenance practices is beneficial.
Ability to work independently while managing multiple plant production and research activities simultaneously.
Exhibit meticulous attention to detail and maintains precise, reliable records; demonstrate consistency and accuracy in completing repetitive or routine tasks; adapt effectively to shifting priorities, fluid schedules, and evolving responsibilities while sustaining high standards of performance.
Ability to organize projects, lead teams, keep people motivated, and drive for results in any situation.

Responsibilities

Work with potato and oat breeders, assistant breeders, and other technicians to perform tasks primarily in greenhouses and growth room settings with additional responsibilities in supporting the work completed in the fields and phenotyping facilities.
Support daily greenhouse, growth room, and controlled-environment operations that are essential to successful breeding activities.
Perform plant propagation activities including seeding, transplanting, cuttings, tuber handling, vegetative propagation, and establishment of healthy breeding materials.
Prepare growth areas, growing media, containers, irrigation systems, and environmental controls to ensure optimal crop growth.
Conduct routine plant care activities including watering, fertilization, pruning, staking, training, integrated pest management, and general crop maintenance.
Monitor plant health and environmental conditions and proactively identify and address crop issues related to growth, pests, diseases, or abiotic stress.
Assist with crossing, pollination, seed extraction, tissue collection, pathogen testing, harvest activities, and inventory management.
Maintain accurate records of plant materials, growth stages, breeding activities, and greenhouse operations using PepsiCo's digital systems.
Work with breeders and assistant breeders to phenotype breeding trials in the field and at the phenotyping facility. This includes in-season phenotyping in the field, performing oats milling and phenotyping operations, raw potato grading at harvest, and chip frying and processing traits.
Work with breeders and assistant breeders to support field activities including pulling seed, planting, transplanting, seed cutting, sample pulling, roguing, and harvesting, etc. Ensure accurate records are taken and entered in a timely fashion.
Utilize barcoding and inventory software to track and store seed, tuber, plant, and seed samples.
Continuously identify opportunities for improving efficiency and quality of breeding operations, including efficiencies in processes, techniques, and flow.
Comply with local EHS requirements, including but not limited to prevention, incident reporting, and remedial actions. Support local EHS efforts onsite through the ownership or co-ownership of a safety program, completion of required training, and attendance of all EHS meetings.
Adapt to unexpected delays and changes in workflows to maintain overall productivity.