Senior Scientist

**Senior Scientist**
**Fresh Food Metabolism**
**Palmerston North, New Zealand**
**Vacancy number: 57379**
**Minimum guaranteed hours: 38 per week**

Based in Palmerston North, the scientist will collaborate closely with PFF teams at Havelock North and Auckland sites, providing genetic and 'omics' capabilities to produce cutting-edge solutions for storage, quality preservation, and senescence of fruit including apple, kiwifruit, kiwiberry, avocados, and tomatoes.

**What you will be doing | Ngā whāinga matua**
You will play a key role in driving innovation across our postharvest research sites in Auckland, Havelock North, and Palmerston North. You'll collaborate with leading scientists to expand and enhance the molecular techniques used in tackling applied postharvest quality and disorder challenges. Your expertise and innovation will directly contribute to advancing the group's analysis capabilities and delivering impactful solutions for the industry. As a key member of the Fresh Food Metabolism team your focus will be to:

- Provide scientific and technical leadership in the use of transcriptomics, epigenetics, and 3D genomics as well as non-destructive analysis, e.g., NIR to drive world-leading innovation in the postharvest space.
- Foster a high-performance collegial science culture with a strong focus on delivering outputs, outcomes and impacts to our internal and external clients and collaborators.
- Bolster and deepen the collaborative synergies among the four PFF teams to position them at the forefront of global postharvest science.

**What you will bring | Ngā tino pūkenga me ngā wheako**
To be successful in this role, you will have:

- A PhD in a postharvest-related area, or metabolomics or transcriptomics or biochemistry, and at least 10 years practical experience in developing solutions to drive postharvest innovation (preferred).
- Strong data science/data handling skills, and ability to work with large complex datasets.
- Curiosity and creativity and take pride in delivering high quality outcomes.
- At least four years' experience in research design, method development and quantitative data and statistical analysis, data integration and presentation of results (verbal and written).
- Ability to work in interdisciplinary teams.
- Skilled in organizing work schedules to meet established deadlines.

A copy of the Position Description is available for you to view once you click on the 'apply' button.

**What you will get | Ngā hua o tēnei tūranga**
The opportunity to work within a friendly, team-based environment that encourages and supports work-life balance, and to contribute to exciting projects with an organisation which has an excellent reputation for its science and for being a great place to work At PFR, we offer excellent employee benefits and flexibility, such as;
- Additional 7 days' leave and generous paid parental leave
- Excellent benefit choices in retirement savings and wellbeing & health
- Focus on health and wellbeing with enhanced sick leave
- Ongoing career development opportunities

Flexible work - work from home and flexible hours

**About us | Ko wai mātou**
At Plant & Food Research, Rangahau Ahumāra Kai, we believe science can create a better future. By finding smarter, greener options today, we're helping secure the world we want to live in tomorrow. With our partners, we use world-leading science and technology to improve the way they grow, fish, harvest, create, prepare and share kai. We have 1000 people working across Aotearoa New Zealand and the world to help develop and deliver healthy foods from the world's most sustainable food systems. We are on our journey towards becoming a meaningful and trusted partner to Māori, promoting the weaving of Mātauranga Māori and science to create growth and success for all of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Job Details
- Crown research institute
- Plant & Food Research
- Reference #
- 57379
- Posted on
- 19 Dec 2024
- Closes on
- 15 Jan 2025 23:55
- Location(s)
- Palmerston North
- Expertise
- Plant Biology
- Job level(s)
- Senior scientist
- Work type(s)
- Permanent
- More details (document)
- 57379 - PD - Senior Scientist - 2024.12.19.docx