Description
Plan, direct, and coordinate agricultural research and development across crops, soils, livestock, and agri-food systems to advance productivity, sustainability, and resilience.
- • Collaborate with agronomists, breeders, engineers, data scientists, growers, and regulators to plan and review projects.
- • Build partnerships with growers, agribusinesses, universities, and funders; communicate proposals, results, and status.
- • Plan and direct agricultural R&D and field/greenhouse trials from concept to scale-up.
- • Prepare grant applications and project proposals for public and private sponsors.
- • Oversee experimental design, protocols, and successive phases of testing and validation.
- • Review progress and approve research, trial, and compliance reports.
- • Hire, mentor, and evaluate scientists, technicians, analysts, and field crews.
- • Set research priorities and technical roadmaps aligned with organizational goals and producer needs.
- • Develop and enforce SOPs, biosafety, and regulatory compliance (e.g., USDA, EPA, APHIS, GLP).
- • Lead adoption of precision agriculture, remote sensing, and genomics; train staff in new methods.
- • Steward germplasm, trial sites, and natural resources to ensure sustainability and ethical use.
- • Conduct independent research and publish or disseminate findings.
- • Provide training and career development to maintain team competence.
- • Manage IP strategy; assist with patents, variety protection, and regulatory dossiers.
- • Prepare and administer budgets; approve expenditures and report on funding performance.
- • Present at scientific and industry meetings and support extension and stakeholder outreach.
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Energy & Natural Resources
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
