Technical Development Mgr

Essential Responsibilities:

Field Research & Product Validation

• Design, implement, and manage field trials and on‑farm demonstrations in specialty crops (e.g., fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, vines, potatoes, turf, or other high‑value systems).
• Ensure trials are agronomically sound, statistically defensible, and aligned with intended claims and use‑patterns.
• Collect, analyze, and interpret agronomic, physiological, and yield/quality data to support product performance claims.
• Provide feedback to the lab/greenhouse team and Product Management on formulation performance, crop response variability, and use‑case optimization, consistent with the organization’s emphasis on scientifically validated product performance.

Agronomic Support & Commercial Enablement

• Serve as the subject‑matter expert (SME) for product use in specialty crop systems, integrating products into grower‑relevant fertility, stress mitigation, and crop quality programs.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing to support customer meetings, field days, and technical trainings.
• Help sales teams position products credibly by explaining mechanisms of action, realistic performance expectations, and best‑fit agronomic scenarios.
• Support the development of crop‑specific guidelines, technical bulletins, and decision tools grounded in field data and biological rationale.

Grower & Stakeholder Engagement

• Build trusted relationships with growers, consultants, researchers, and specialty crop influencers.
• Act as a technical face of the company in the field, answering agronomic questions, troubleshooting performance issues, and reinforcing product confidence.
• Provide in‑season agronomic support to ensure correct product use and to identify opportunities for program improvement.

Data, Insights & Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Translate field data into clear insights for internal teams, including Product Management, Regulatory, Marketing, and R&D.
• Contribute to internal knowledge sharing by documenting learnings from trial programs and customer interactions.
• Support regulatory and stewardship activities by ensuring field use aligns with label requirements and regional crop practices.
• Other duties not listed above may be assigned by immediate supervisor

 Criteria:

• Broad agronomy knowledge of specialty crops in the U.S. and around the globe.
• Experience managing the technical aspects of product development projects for crop inputs
• Experience planning, facilitating or summarizing agronomic field trials
• Experience in technical support for differentiated products in a competitive market
• Strong interpersonal and customer relation skills, but also an innovative and creative thinker
• Strong ability to work well with others to achieve objectives, but Independent and comfortable working from a remote office at their home
• High level of proficiency for analyzing and summarizing data (i.e. Excel, ARM, etc…)
• Achieves Results: Self-starter, self-disciplined, detailed and organized. Identifies and resolves problem in a timely manner. Prioritizes and plans work activities and uses time efficiently.
• Adaptability & Change Management: Effectively deals with and handles change and uncertainty. Adapts easily and quickly to a changing environment without losing effectiveness. Resilient
• Personal Development: Listens well and is aware of personal strengths and weaknesses and takes continuous action to improve personal capabilities
• Uncompromising ethics; Passionate for excellence; Unaccepting of mediocrity; Efficient with time
• This position requires 40-60% travel on average. (some weeks zero travel, some weeks 5 days).
• Work location is preferred in one of the following states: CA, but other adjacent states will be considered for strong candidates

 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, Crop Science, Plant Science, Soil Science, or a related field (Ph.D. degree preferred).
• 5+ years of experience in field agronomy, technical services, or crop consulting, with direct exposure to specialty crop systems.
• Strong working knowledge of plant nutrition, soil fertility, crop physiology, and stress responses.
• Demonstrated experience designing and executing field trials or on farm research.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex biological concepts into practical agronomic recommendations.
• Willingness to travel extensively during the growing season

Physical Demands:<