Research Associate - Quantitative Genetics

Advanta is a global seed business adapting to rapidly increasing food insecurity and climate change by providing farmers with innovation and new technologies. As part of UPL Group, Advanta aims to deliver high quality seeds with excellent agronomic practices and crop protection solutions. Advanta operates in over 80 countries under global brands of Advanta, Alta and Pacific Seeds. Advanta holds a leadership position in tropical and sub-tropical geographies in corn, grain and forage sorghum, sunflower, canola, rice, and a variety of vegetables. With over 60 years' experience in plant genetics, Advanta provides seeds technology that ensures crop performance and farmers prosperity.

Job Summary: Ideal candidate will have strong knowledge and proven research experience in plant genetics, breeding, quantitative genetics, and computational biology. Successful person will collaborate closely with molecular breeding scientists and will contribute to research projects involving mapping quantitative traits, germplasm fingerprinting, and genomic selection. 

Job Responsibilities:
•    Analyze genetic data from studies aimed at understanding the genetic architecture of quantitative traits.
•    Interpret results from genetic studies, perform meta-analysis of proprietary and public literature, and generate technical reports.
•    Present the findings to molecular breeding and breeding teams.
•    Collaborate with molecular breeding scientists and laboratory to generate genotypic data for molecular breeding projects.
•    Provide logistical support to molecular breeding scientists by tracking samples movement from breeding programs to ensure timely genotyping needed for implementing molecular breeding.
•    Generate reports on quality of genetic data from genotypic service provider(s) to be used in molecular breeding projects.
•    Curate and store genotypic data in appropriate databases for use in molecular breeding projects.
•    Maintain high level of confidentiality about the company procedures and datasets.

Qualifications:
•    M.S. degree in quantitative genetics, plant breeding, computational biology, plant science, crop science, biotechnology, or other related fields.
•    Research experience in understanding genetic architecture of quantitative traits.
•    Knowledge of molecular markers and experience in genetic data interpretation and analysis.
•    Experience with the programming languages R and/or python is required.
•    Excellent organizational skills are required for this position. Successful person should demonstrate ability to track, prioritize and manage multiple tasks to meet the timelines.
•    Proactive, self-driven, and self-motivated person with high accountability.
•    Team player with exceptional interpersonal skills who can effectively communicate with an international team of scientists.

We are one team, for maximum impact. One team with shared goals. We all play for the team and no one plays against the team. We have a laser-like focus on what our customers need and want, on anticipating their future needs and on how we can create innovative solutions and experiences for them.

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