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Description

The Global Plant Pathology group at Corteva Agriscience is an integrated and critical support team to our product development efforts, impacting the success of disease trait characterization efforts for Seed Product Development. This Plant Pathology Research Associate position will be a key contributor to our research team that is a foundational plant disease center of excellence for Corteva Agriscience, including but not limited to the following areas: inoculum production, disease characterization and phenotyping, and research efforts to improve crop disease monitoring and control efforts.

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a strong background in plant pathology or microbiology. Knowledge of plant pathogens, and experience working with organisms using aseptic techniques, will be essential. As part of the Global Plant Pathology team and as part of cross-functional teams, the successful candidate will contribute to global research and development for Corteva Agriscience. Primary responsibilities include conducting all aspects of inoculum production, media preparation, plant pathogen growth, seed carrier sterilization, shipment of final inoculum products, culture collection maintenance, managing chemical inventories, equipment purchases, completing regular audits, and entering calibration data. In addition, the successful candidate will be leading R&D projects that will improve inoculum production methods and/or inoculum effectiveness for key pathogens.

Responsibilities - What You'll Do:

• Oversight and conducting all aspects of large-scale plant pathogen inoculum production activities, including liquid broth and agar media preparation, pathogen transfers, sterilization of seed carriers, blending coating and stirring of pathogens on sterile seed media, loading inoculum onto pallets, and shipping completed inoculum to designated research locations.

• Conducting assays in controlled environments (greenhouse and/or growth chambers) establishing race characterization and/or virulence of pathogens on host plant differentials for race typing and isolate selection for inoculum production.

• Design and execution of experiments related to improving inoculum quality and efficacy.

• Secondary contact for Controlled Environment (CE) request submissions for assay designs in greenhouses and growth chambers.

• Secondary contact to the Product Stewardship and Regulatory Compliance group coordinating inoculum production permits with centers of disease excellence requesting inoculum.

• Support annual culture collection maintenance of plant pathogen isolates and collaborate with other teams within pathology on isolate characterization for discovery projects.

• Interact and communicate with worldwide pathology teams to improve their inoculum production processes.

• Participate and contribute to cross-functional teams designed to identify product solutions for plant pathogen challenges to crop performance.

• Perform routine safety evaluations on laboratory equipment.

• Compiles and enters shipping and inoculum production records.

• Participate in the decontamination of laboratory equipment and facilities during pathogen production.

• Coordinating scheduling with the Central Services to establish autoclave reservations for seed carrier sterilization and devitalization of Plant Protection Quarantine (PPQ) waste materials.

• Responsible for ordering lab supplies. Monitor and maintain existing chemical and consumable inventories and purchase materials to support inoculum production.

• Completion of safety audits, calibrations of existing equipment, and verification data entry.

• Ensure compliance with company policies and written protocols are performed in a safe and ethical manner.

Qualifications

What Skills You Need

Education:

M.S. in Plant Pathology (or closely related plant science major) with prior experience working with crop or seed pathogens is preferred. Will consider applicants with a B.S. with 10 years of experience in same area of expertise.

Required Skills/Experience:

• Working knowledge of sterile technique is required.

• Demonstrated competence in working with microbes and characterizing pathogens in lab setting, with knowledge of molecular assays that support disease characterization.

• Demonstrated ability to work as part of cross-functional, complex teams and deliver results.

• The ability to frequently lift materials up to 25 lbs. is required.

• Computer proficiency Microsoft Access, Excel, Office, Outlook, and Word programs.

• Capable of working in environments with odors and elevated concentrations of pollen, dust, or mold. Requires the ability to wear a respirator or related safety equipment.

• Excellent leadership and communications skills.

• Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively in a team environment, enabling an open, productive, and collaborative work environment.

• Experience in initiating experiments, experimental design, executing on experiment plans and summarizing results.

Desired Skills/Experience:

• Experience culturing fungi and bacteria on artificial media is strongly desired.

• Experience with disease trait characterization in field or controlled environments.

• Fluency in written and spoken English.

VISA sponsorship is not available for this position.

Benefits - How We'll Support You:

• 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

• Learn more about our total rewards package here - Corteva Benefits (https://careers.corteva.com/2024-us-benefits-guide)

• Check out life at Corteva! www.linkedin.com/company/corteva/life (https://www.linkedin.com/company/corteva/life/3006dde6-2563-4a98-8e94-ee4feba88cff/)

Are you a good match? Apply today! We seek applicants from all backgrounds to ensure we get the best, most creative talent on our team.

Corteva Agriscience™ is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to boldly embracing the power of inclusion, diversity, and equity to enrich the lives of our employees and strengthen the performance of our company, while advancing equity in agriculture. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability or any other protected class. Discrimination, harassment and retaliation are inconsistent with our values and will not be tolerated. If you require a reasonable accommodation to search or apply for a position, please visit:

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To all recruitment agencies: Corteva does not accept unsolicited third party resumes and is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.