Full-Time
Senior Greenhouse Facilities & Systems Engineer
Updated on 9/3/2026
Ohalo
51-200 employees
Seed-based accelerated crop breeding platform
Compensation Overview
$90k - $115k/yr
No H1B Sponsorship
Watsonville, CA, USA
In Person
Bachelor's
 Facilities Operations (2) |
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- A bachelor's degree in Facilities Management, Engineering (Mechanical, Civil, or related), Environmental Health & Safety, or an equivalent combination of education and experience is required.
- At least 5 years of experience managing complex facility infrastructure is required, including heavy mechanical and electrical systems such as HVAC, chillers, commercial electrical distribution, environmental control systems, and automation.
- Proficiency in CAD software such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD, or Fusion360 is required, along with hands-on experience with 3D printing and rapid prototyping techniques.
- Experience overseeing third-party specialized technicians, mechanical contractors, and service vendors is required.
- Proficiency with maintenance management systems and standard business software, including Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, is required.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to present technical and safety information clearly to diverse audiences are required.
- A valid California driver's license and reliable transportation are required.
- Oversee the day-to-day operation and preventive and corrective maintenance of all site infrastructure, including greenhouse structures, HVAC, irrigation and fertigation systems, electrical, plumbing, lighting, controls, and utilities.
- Develop and manage a Computerized Maintenance Management System or equivalent tracking process for work orders, asset history, and planned maintenance schedules.
- Partner with greenhouse operations and research teams to plan and execute facility modifications that support evolving science programs.
- Maintain all facility systems in compliance with applicable building codes, agricultural regulations, and operational standards.
- Manage relationships with third-party service providers, equipment vendors, and construction contractors; negotiate contracts and ensure quality of work.
- Collaborate with greenhouse operations, plant science, and supply chain teams to ensure facilities support research timelines and production schedules.
- Develop and manage site security systems, including access control, surveillance, and perimeter security, for an agricultural research and development environment.
- Oversee facilities-related hygiene, pest and disease prevention, structural exclusion measures, and environmental monitoring systems.
- Support sustainability initiatives involving water recapture, energy efficiency, and waste reduction.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a small in-house facilities and maintenance technician team; define roles, set performance goals, and manage staffing needs.
- Assist with site safety inspections, coordinate facilities-related emergency planning for fire suppression and backup power, and ensure proper chemical storage containment.
- Direct experience owning or heavily supporting Environment, Health & Safety programs in a California-based agricultural, biotech, or manufacturing setting, with working knowledge of Cal/OSHA Title 8 standards.
- Demonstrated experience managing contractors, reviewing construction scopes, and controlling project budgets.
- Familiarity with California agricultural pesticide use reporting, Pesticide Use Permits, and the Worker Protection Standard.
- Experience in a startup or fast-scaling environment where processes are built from the ground up.
- Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish.
Ohalo Genetics develops seeds using Boosted Breeding, a method that makes plants pass on their entire genome to offspring, enabling asexual reproduction through seeds. How it works: by altering the reproductive process, the offspring are genetically identical to the parent, producing true seeds that carry the full parent genome. This allows rapid development of new crop varieties with desirable traits, shortening breeding cycles from about 10–12 years to only a few years. What sets it apart: it targets a wide range of crops (potatoes, corn, berries) and collaborates with other agricultural companies to develop and commercialize new varieties, focusing on predictable, genotype-stable outcomes. What the company aims to achieve: increase crop productivity and resilience to changing environmental conditions, helping improve the food supply chain by delivering better-yielding, more reliable crops.
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Late Stage VC
Total Funding
$100M
Headquarters
Seacliff, California
Founded
2019
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Florida strawberry resistance trials began after the December 20, 2024 UF/IFAS deal.
- Ohalo filed potato and maize patent applications in 2025, strengthening crop-specific IP.
- Ohalo keeps hiring seed veterans from Syngenta and Inari during 2026 scaling.
What critics are saying
- Solynta and Pairwise attack the same potato and trait-editing markets in 2026.
- Ohalo's 2025 patent family remains pending, leaving core Boosted claims exposed.
- If true potato seed fails field consistency, farmers reject it and commercialization dies.
What makes Ohalo unique
- Boosted Breeding preserves whole parental genomes, enabling true seeds and faster breeding.
- Justin Wolfe joined July 2, 2026, and Rob Dunlop joined August 18, 2026.
- May 28, 2026 Allied Potato partnership targets global Boosted potato commercialization.
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Benefits
Remote Work Options
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 2%1 year growth
↓ -5%2 year growth
↑ 0%Ohalo has appointed Rob Dunlop as vice president, global commercial. Dunlop joins from Inari, where he served as chief commercial officer, bringing over 30 years of experience in breeding, agronomy, and commercial leadership. In his new role, Dunlop will develop agronomic and support systems for growers using Ohalo's Boosted seed products and manage channel partnerships for global distribution. He previously held leadership positions at Nutrien Ag Solutions, Monsanto, and Bayer across multiple continents. Ohalo's Boosted Potato seed technology shifts potato farming from traditional tubers to seed-based cultivation, claiming yield gains exceeding 20% whilst eliminating major production costs. The company states commercial potato farmers could target $2,000 or more in additional profit per acre. Founded in 2019, Ohalo develops breeding systems and plant varieties aimed at increasing crop yield and resilience.
Ohalo has appointed Justin Wolfe as president and chief operating officer to lead commercialisation of its Boosted seed business. Wolfe joins from Syngenta, where he served as president of global seeds, bringing over 30 years of seed industry experience. Wolfe will oversee commercial scaling of Ohalo's products, initially focusing on delivering the world's first true potato seed to farmers. The company's Boosted Potato hybrids use true seed rather than traditional tubers, offering yield gains exceeding 20% and potentially $2,000 additional profit per acre for commercial farmers. Founded in 2019, Ohalo's Boosted Breeding technology also extends to almonds and strawberries, with additional crop varieties in development. Wolfe previously held senior roles at Monsanto, including vice president of Europe and Middle East commercial operations.
APTOS, Calif., Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohalo Genetics, Inc. has entered into a groundbreaking Development & Commercialization Agreement with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc., and the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) to address the significant threat of neopestalotiopsis to the strawberry industry.This fungal disease, which can wipe out entire strawberry fields, has become one of the most damaging issues faced by Florida strawberry growers, affecting crop yields, increasing production costs and threatening the livelihood of farmers in a state known as the "Winter Strawberry Capital of the United States".Neopestalotiopsis was first detected in Florida in 2017, with notable outbreaks in subsequent years. By 2019 and 2020, the disease had become widespread and severely damaged the crop across the state.Currently, there are no commercially available public strawberry varieties resistant to neopestalotiopsis. Growers have relied on fungicides and rigorous field management practices to mitigate the disease's effects, but these methods come with increased costs and limited effectiveness.In response to this challenge, Ohalo® leveraged its advanced breeding technology platform with genetic resources from UF/IFAS to develop a novel trait that makes a strawberry plant resistant to neopestalotiopsis and integrated that trait into existing University of Florida strawberry varieties. These new, resistant varieties will enter non-commercial, experimental trials in 2025."This collaboration showcases the power of public-private partnerships in solving critical agricultural challenges," said Jud Ward, CTO of Ohalo
Dave Friedberg, CEO of Ohalo, has unveiled a 'boosted breeding' technology that ensures offspring inherit all beneficial traits from both parent plants, potentially revolutionizing crop breeding. This method, which prevents the random splitting of genes, has shown to significantly increase yields. Ohalo, founded in 2019, has raised over $100 million in funding. Friedberg was inspired by Dr. Jud Ward's work at Driscoll’s and officially set up Ohalo in late summer 2019.
Vinod Khosla and Dave Friedberg struck a largely positive note on stage at the World Agri-Tech and Future Food-Tech conferences in San Francisco last week despite the ongoing funding winter.While AgFunder reported a 49.2% decline in agrifoodtech funding in 2023 and many startups face the abyss this year without a fresh influx of capital, money is always available for exceptional founders with disruptive products or technologies, insisted Dave Friedberg, CEO at investment group The Production Board (TPB) during a panel debate with Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla last Tuesday.“Exceptional founders have nothing to worry about,” said Friedberg. “But being a founder doesn’t give you the privilege of being able to raise money. And so that’s a fundamental truth that everyone’s going to get hit in the head with at some point. You can’t blame the market.”“That is so true,” agreed Khosla. “There are so many me-too kinds of startups. In fact, what I would argue is what the market has done is separated the really good startups from the not so good… Markets go up and down and you have to roll with the punches.”Vinod Khosla on cultivated meat: ‘We’ve probably looked at two dozen business plans, and not one made economic sense’Khosla, who highlighted his firm’s investments in Nitricity (on-farm nitrogen), Leaft (Rubisco protein), Impossible Foods (plant-based meat), Vertical Oceans (high-tech shrimp farming), Climate Corp (ag data), and Blue River (ag robotics) over the years, said: “I don’t think there are any areas I would say we’ve pulled back from