Careers

Company Background

CoverCress, Inc. (“CCI”) is an innovative startup company delivering a new climate-smart seed technology under the CoverCress™ brand. Founded in 2013, CCI is converting the common winter annual, field pennycress, using plant breeding to improve yield and maturity combined with advanced gene editing tools to improve fiber and oil composition. CoverCress seed allows corn and soybean farmers to add a new crop into their rotation on existing land during winter, while offering the ecosystem benefits of a cover crop, including improved soil health and carbon sequestration. It generates farm revenue as a whole grain feed ingredient, or when processed, as a low carbon intensity oil for renewable fuel production, and as a high-protein meal for animal feed. The St. Louis-based CCI plans a limited demonstration of the CoverCress crop in select geographies, with the goal of growing to millions of acres across the lower Midwest. If you believe you are the right fit for this exciting opportunity, please submit your resume via the web form below.

Job Description

The Company is seeking to hire Seasonal Operations employees to support the agronomy and breeding team. The successful candidate will have the ability to pay close attention to detail and follow instructions in a fast-paced environment. The position requires a valid driver’s license and the ability to lift 40+ pounds. The candidate must have the ability to work in both indoor and outdoor environments. This position can be used for college internship credits if the candidate so desires.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assist the Agronomy team with harvest activities in the field.
• Process harvested grain with cleaning, moisture records, etc.
• Assist the breeding team with nursery activities, including planting and harvesting.
• Travel to fields (sometimes for 2+ hours), with the potential of overnight stays.
• Adhere to company safety and health policies.
• Maintain a clean work environment, including tidying your workstation at the end of every day including work vehicles.
• Work closely with other team members.  
• Ability to work at least 15 hours per week.

Qualifications & Compensation

• A high-school diploma is preferred, however not required.
• Compensation: This position starts at $12.50 per hour, with the opportunity for overtime. 

Company Background

CoverCress, Inc. (“CCI”) is an innovative startup company delivering a new climate-smart seed technology under the CoverCress™ brand. Founded in 2013, CCI is converting the common winter annual, field pennycress, using plant breeding to improve yield and maturity combined with advanced gene editing tools to improve fiber and oil composition. CoverCress seed allows corn and soybean farmers to add a new crop into their rotation on existing land during winter, while offering the ecosystem benefits of a cover crop, including improved soil health and carbon sequestration. It generates farm revenue as a whole grain feed ingredient, or when processed, as a low carbon intensity oil for renewable fuel production, and as a high-protein meal for animal feed. The St. Louis-based CCI plans a limited demonstration of the CoverCress crop in select geographies, with the goal of growing to millions of acres across the lower Midwest. If you believe you are the right fit for this exciting opportunity, please submit your resume via the web form below.

Key Responsibilities

• DNA Preparation
• Processing Plants
• Running NIRS
• PCR Analysis

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Able to organize, multitask time efficiently and work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary and interactive research environment.
• Effective writing and communication skills, meticulous record keeping.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Sharepoint and the Microsoft Suite of products, specifically Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
• Familiarity with the concepts behind gene editing, various genotyping technologies, including KASP genotyping and Next-Gen Sequencing, and DNA extraction.
• Familiarity with Nanodrop Spectrophotometry.

Job Details

• Up to 20 hours a week
• The projected length of the internship is 9 months - 1 year
• Potential opportunity to transition to a full-time position in the future

Company Summary

CoverCress, Inc. (“CCI”) is an innovative startup company delivering a new climate-smart seed technology under the CoverCress™ brand. Founded in 2013, CCI is converting the common winter annual, field pennycress, using plant breeding to improve yield and maturity combined with advanced gene editing tools to improve fiber and oil composition. CoverCress seed allows corn and soybean farmers to add a new crop into their rotation on existing land during winter, while offering the ecosystem benefits of a cover crop, including improved soil health and carbon sequestration. It generates farm revenue as a whole grain feed ingredient, or when processed, as a low-carbon intensity oil for renewable fuel production, and as a high-protein meal for animal feed. The St. Louis-based CCI plans a limited demonstration of the CoverCress crop in select geographies, with the goal of growing to millions of acres across the lower Midwest.

Job Description

CoverCress Inc. is seeking a Field Research Agronomist to join our fast-paced breeding and testing programs, as well as assist in the development of our grower network and product deployment.  This position is full-time and will be located at our St. Louis, MO main office.

Key Responsibilities:

A successful candidate will be expected to:

• Provide support to the breeding teams with planting, harvesting, and maintaining different yield testing locations. This will include travel (and possible overnight travel) to research locations across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.
• Work collaboratively with the Breeding, Agronomy and Commercial teams to achieve the continuous improvement of CoverCress’ s growing ability as a crop. This involves developing and implementing experiments that will help curate critical data for the support of CoverCress’ different varieties success.
• Educate growers on variety expectations and general instruction on the successful cultivation of CoverCress grain. Participating in customer-facing interactions while helping the Commercial and Agronomy teams in collecting valuable customer feedback.
• Demonstrate the ability to help plan out and lead projects that help successfully implement field research protocols for breeding and agronomic testing.
• Supervise and hire seasonal labor to support research and field-testing efforts.
• Conduct all activities with health and safety as a main priority.

Education and Background

Bachelor of Science in Agronomy, Plant Science, Horticulture, Agricultural Economics, or related field with 3-5 years of experience OR, a master’s degree in Agronomy or related field with 3 years experience in academia or industry.

Qualifications

• Experience with various research equipment, such as plot combines and plot planters.
• Demonstrates experience and knowledge of research experiment design, trial implementation, and field selection.
• Ability to obtain a Class A commercial driver's license.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a commercial pesticide applicators license.
• Ability to obtain drone pilot certification (Part 107 certification)
• Experience with breeding research and development field software is useful but not required.
• Strong time management and organizational skills.

Benefits:

• Health, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Flexible Schedule