Position Overview:
The Lawn Care Scientist will work to design & support a diverse portfolio of lawn care products for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. This person will be pivotal in defining and developing products and practices for the homeowner turfgrass segment. Associates are expected to participate in our business segment as a hands-on researcher so that they may develop keen insights that contribute to the commercialization of novel products. Additionally, the Scientist will have broad experience in turfgrass cultural practices such as irrigation, establishment, nutrition, mowing, maintenance and pest control. The Scientist should have a working knowledge of temperature/humidity/dormancy/seasonal effects on both cool and warm season turfgrasses and be familiar with turfgrass industry standards. Ability to relate research and turfgrass management experience into both product development and consumer communications. It is vital that the incumbent possess practical skills in experimental design and analysis, report writing, and regulatory frameworks. Exceptional time management and organizational skills are desired. A strong scientific curiosity, excellent communication skills, initiative and independence are also essential characteristics. The scientist will also mine technologies and match them to both articulated and unarticulated consumer needs to drive the homeowner Lawn Care category. This position reports directly to the R&D Product Development Manager.
Key Responsibilities:
Leads, plans and implements field and greenhouse biological research, including trial setup & initiation, data collection, data analysis, and preparation of reports to be used to support product claims for regulatory agencies.
Collaborate closely with colleagues in R&D, marketing, regulatory, sourcing, and manufacturing to ensure alignment on project goals, effective use of resources and explore innovation possibilities.
Provide technical assistance to R&D, marketing, regulatory, sourcing, quality, and manufacturing when appropriate. Contribute to the Product Development Team to raise overall team contributions and performance.
Interacts with industry and university collaborators to understand and mine new technologies, new biological research methods, and consumer trends and communicate this information to category leads and sales/ tech service.
Develops and follows R&D Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Communicates scientific concepts and research to senior leadership (including Directors, GM’s VP’s, COO, CEO and Board Members); demonstrates outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
Critical in support of state and EPA registration dossiers, potential partnership or acquisitions, competitive analysis and cost-out initiatives.
Ph.D. in Weed Science is preferred or a related field (agronomy, soil science, etc) is required. Experience in a related field, such as sports/commercial turf, golf turfgrass maintenance, or academic research/extension program. Demonstrated ability to design and lead research programs to answer specific questions and/or solve problems and experience in conducting biological research to commercialize turf products or technologies.Possess a broad awareness of consumer lawn and garden products and practices; hands-on experience is desirable. Strong aptitude for weed science/turfgrass management, chemistry, conversions and mathematics.Experience performing Statistical Analysis using ARM, MiniTab, JMP or similar software programs. A high degree of original thinking and intellectual curiosity is required. The scientist must design research protocols that address key questions and hypotheses for a combination of variables as Scotts Miracle-Gro attempts to optimize the complete solution for homeowners across all product categories.Willingness to function as part of a hands-on scientific team and mentor/develop other team members (biology technicians/interns).
