Turfgrass Field Research Assistant

Bethel Farms•Arcadia, FL

23d•Onsite

About The Position

Bethel Farms is a family-owned company with over 4,500 acres of turfgrass production in Florida. Our mission is simple: "Honoring God, growing better everyday." One of our many values is manifested through our Bethel Innovations team. This department is responsible for creating new turfgrass varieties and specialized planting products. The Director is interviewing candidates to join us as our new Turfgrass Field Research Assistant! The role largely involves regular outdoor work including regular mowing, fertilization, irrigation and generalized fieldwork. This also involves data collection, trial ratings, and farm collaboration.

Requirements

2+ years of experience in agriculture, operations, engineering support, technical services, or applied R&D
Bachelor’s or associate’s degree in a relevant program accepted as work experience equivalent
Comfort with ambiguity, experimentation, and iterative problem-solving
Ability to work independently in field-based, non-office environments
Strong documentation and observational skills
High level of situational and self-awareness

Nice To Haves

Experience in agriculture, turf, greenhouse production/management, manufacturing, or logistics
Exposure to automation, sensors, GIS, data tools, research trials, and/or equipment modification
Experience with irrigation controllers, irrigation programming, and water management
Basis understanding of process improvement or continuous improvement concepts
Great mechanical, technical, or systems aptitude
Bilingual in English and Spanish

Responsibilities

Support pilot projects, trials, and prototypes
Tasks related to agronomy, automation, equipment, data collection, and process improvement
Operate, test, and refine new tools, technologies, and workflows in real operating environments
Document results, failures, constraints, and recommendations with operational clarity
Assist with basic data collection, validation, and reporting from trials and experiments
Deploy and maintain sensors, field devices, test equipment, and supporting software used in innovative initiatives
Coordinate across departments like Production, Harvesting, Technology, Analytics, Operations to integrate new technologies
Operate equipment and tools as required for trials and demonstrations
Work directly in farms, yards, and operational facilities to test and validate solutions
Ensure innovations department aligns with safety, regulatory, and operational constraints
Observe production and distribution workflows to identify inefficiencies, risks, and improvement opportunities
Assist in redesigning processes for scalability, repeatability, and cost efficiency
Support standardization once innovations transition from pilot to production
Translate technical findings into practical operational language
Provide clear updates to the Innovations Director and cross-functional partners
Support training and handoff when innovations are adopted by operations teams