Job Details
Level: Senior
Job Location: Oishii Farm Corporation 101 - Jersey City, NJ
Position Type: Full Time
Salary Range: Undisclosed
Travel Percentage: None
Job Shift: Any
Job Category: Farm Research & Development
Description
Senior Project Manager, Research & Development
We grow the world's BEST Strawberries & that wouldn't be possible without our super talented Research & Development Team!
Our Research & Development team works on various projects from breeding to cultivar development to fundamental product research and is composed of varying team members such as expert growers, plant scientists, and project teams.
We are hiring a Senior Manager for our R&D team to support product or cultivar development.
This role includes:

• Experiment Planning:
  
  • Develop clear objectives and goals for experiments, continuously updating them to align with project objectives.
  • Create and maintain an experiment portfolio, assigning experiment numbers to each objective/target, and consistently updating priorities.
  • Develop comprehensive experiment plans, including yield and quality targets, timeline, environment settings, and experiment cohort details.
  • Formulate a propagation plan for running experiments and a retrofit plan for facility improvements.
• Experiment Progress Monitoring:
  
  • Regularly monitor farm, environment, and plant conditions.
  • Organize datasets, including data cleansing, and effectively monitor the data.
  • Summarize and synthesize all learnings regularly, collaborating with the Director of Recipe Development and expert growers.
  • Provide suggestions on whether to continue experiments or make changes based on observations.
  • Ensure adequate resources for experiments and flag any shortages.
  • Monitor facility problems and troubleshoot conditions as needed.
• Experiment Wrap Up and Share/Synthesizing across the team:
  
  • Analyze quantitative and qualitative data to summarize findings and learnings from experiments in detailed documents.
  • Share and synthesize findings and learnings with senior leaders, other R&D members, and cross-functional teams (propagation, production, commercial, and engineering teams).

What you'll be responsible for:

• Collaborate with the Director of Recipe Development, expert growers, and R&D operators to ensure the successful execution of day-to-day experiments and recipe development.
• Ensure that farm operations are executed within the specified timeline and meet the required quality standards for proper experiment conduct, including the collection of accurate data.
• Maintain the farm environment within the target range to ensure the meaningfulness of experiments.
• Prevent critical failures in facility operations that could interrupt experiments and result in the loss of valuable learnings.
• Ensure all farms are utilized for experiments with clear objectives and goals directly contributing to improving the business model and profitability.
• Oversee accurate and compatible data collection, making it accessible for key stakeholders, including senior leaders in R&D and expert growers.
• Synthesize findings and learnings from experiments and share them with the entire R&D team, as well as other relevant functions such as breeding, production, and the propagation teams.
• Continuously improve recipes efficiently and effectively through all experiments utilizing the findings and data already collected throughout the process.
• Develop expert growers' capabilities in logical thinking, prioritization, planning, documentation, and analytical skills.
• Coach, develop, and train teams, including R&D operators and expert growers to create an environment aligned with Oishii values, supporting career development, and adhering to company policies.

Qualifications
Who will love this job: Individuals who identify with our Core Values and exhibit skills within those values will thrive at Oishii.

• One Team, One Fight!
  • Ability to quickly shift priorities to meet deadlines and effectively communicate, both verbally and in writing, clearly, concisely and with purpose.
  • Outgoing and collaborative work style- Ability to work cross functionally at all levels and collaborate at various levels of the organization.
• Focus
  • Ability to remove obstacles in order to prioritize which could include problem solving, working through ambiguity and using fact based or sound judgment.
  • Ability to work independently, with a high attention to detail, and ability to create structure & process where none may exist.
• GSD (Get Sh** Done!)
  • Capable of prioritizing tasks and always considering the resources available when doing so.
  • A bias for action! Ability to hold yourself accountable and take ownership of driving results that impact company outcomes.

What we look for in a Senior Manager:

• Bachelor's Degree in an agriculture related field such as horticulture, plant science,or biological sciences; advanced degree is a plus!
• 5-8 years in a Research & Development role where research was quickly applied to production operations.
• 5-8 years of experience leading projects in fast-paced work environments; startup experience is a plus.
• 3+ years of experience managing people or leading teams.
• Solid computer literacy and familiarity with communication tools such as Google suite, Microsoft Office suite, Slack, Asana, etc.
• Comfortable onsite in a farming environment with varying temperatures.
• Proficiency in English is required and proficiency inJapanese is a plus.

Shift & Schedule:

• This is an onsite role based in Jersey City, NJ. The role requires travel to farm facilities at multiple locations. (Currently we have facilities in Kearny, Jersey City and Philipsburg, NJ)
• While most work will be Monday through Friday during normal business hours, due to the continuously operating nature of plants and facilities, you must be willing to engage occasionally on nights and weekends.

Perks at Oishii:

• Competitive salary, bonus, & equity packages
• Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance
• 100% Employer Paid Life Insurance + Long Term Disability Insurance
• EAP Access
• Pet Insurance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan (Roth & Traditional)
• Paid Parental leave
• Office social events including happy hours, parties, and community service projects
• Employee activity groups for basketball players, Yoga Enthusiasts, runners...

About Oishii:
At Oishii, we grow the best fruit in the world by deploying ground-breaking vertical farming technology that pushes the boundaries of agriculture. We're the first in the WORLD to grow fruit in an indoor vertical farm at commercial scale. We started with strawberries, which we debuted at Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, the three star Michelin restaurant considered by critics to be among the best in the world. Since then, we have supplied our strawberries to food-loving consumers, world-class restaurants, and specialty retailers across NYC. Our proprietary technology enables us to grow the very best produce year-round, at the same high level of quality, all without using any pesticides.
Oishii has been profiled in Eater, NPR, Time Magazine, and Fortune. Oishi was also one of the Fast Companies Most Innovative Companies of 2022.
At Oishii, everything we do works toward accomplishing our mission of transforming agriculture sustainably while bringing produce that truly delights people everywhere. This requires farmers, engineers, scientists, product managers, and members of many other backgrounds to work together day-in and day-out to innovate, while operating increasingly large farms. We have an amazing mission-driven team of highly motivated and engaged members.
Learn More https://oishii.com/