O

Ohalo

Seed-based accelerated crop breeding platform

Field Technician - True Potato Seed Production

Full-Time
$24 - $27/hr
Mid
Bachelor's, Associate's
Watsonville, CA, USA
In PersonTravel to different TPS production sites is required 25% of the time, with occasional trips lasting a week or more.
Biology & BiotechTranslational Research & Bench Biology
No H1B Sponsorship

About the job

Requirements
  • A high school diploma or equivalent is required.
  • Three or more years of experience in agriculture, horticulture, plant breeding, seed production, or related fieldwork is required; internship experience is considered.
  • Strong attention to detail and steady hands for fine, flower-level work such as emasculation and hand-pollination are required.
  • Ability to follow precise, protocol-driven procedures and maintain accurate identity-preserved records is required.
  • Comfort working in greenhouse, screenhouse, and open-field environments is required.
  • Ability to work flexible hours, often early in the morning, because flower receptivity and pollen viability are time-sensitive is required.
  • Ability to stand, bend, and work at bench or plant height for extended periods is required.
  • Ability to lift up to 30–50 pounds is required.
  • A valid driver's license with a clean driving record is required.
  • Ability to travel 25% to different TPS production sites, including occasional trips lasting a week or more, is required.
  • Ability to perform fine, repetitive hand movements for extended periods is required.
  • Ability to work at bench height and plant height in greenhouse or screenhouse settings, as well as bend and kneel in open-field plots, is required.
  • Ability to work in warm, humid greenhouse conditions and variable outdoor weather is required.
  • Ability to walk plot and greenhouse rows repeatedly throughout the day is required.
  • Willingness to work early-morning shifts during active flowering and pollination windows is required.
Responsibilities
  • Execute seed-production planting in appropriate TPS production locations across United States planting sites.
  • Collect detailed data, maintain fully updated production records, and report information as it happens.
  • Follow pollen-collection and seed-production standard operating procedures.
  • Collect pollen from designated male parent plants at the correct flowering stage and ensure viability through fresh collection and proper storage and temperature control.
  • Perform hand-pollination by applying pollen to female flowers according to prescribed crossing designs.
  • Immediately tag and label each pollinated flower or truss with the cross ID, parent line, and date to maintain traceability through berry set and harvest.
  • Monitor flowering synchrony between male and female parent plants and flag timing mismatches to breeders or supervisors.
  • Track pollination success rates, fruit or berry set, and flower drop in field books or digital data-collection tools.
  • Monitor berry development and maturity to determine correct harvest timing.
  • Hand-harvest mature berries by cross or truss while preserving identity and avoiding cross-contamination.
  • Assist with berry processing by crushing or macerating berries, fermenting pulp, and washing it to extract true seed.
  • Dry, clean, and package extracted TPS seed lots according to protocol, ensuring accurate labeling for storage and germination testing.
  • Support seed viability and germination testing procedures as needed.
  • Assist with planting, transplanting, and maintenance of parent clone plots in field, greenhouse, or screenhouse settings.
  • Conduct regular field and greenhouse inspections to monitor plant health, flowering stage, and pest or disease pressure.
  • Rogue off-type or diseased plants to protect the genetic integrity of parent lines.
  • Support isolation requirements between crossing blocks to prevent unwanted pollen contamination.
  • Maintain irrigation, staking, and general crop upkeep for parent clone plots.
  • Operate small field and greenhouse equipment, including sprayers, irrigation systems, and hand tools, as needed.
  • Maintain meticulous, organized records in compliance with company and regulatory traceability standards.
  • Help coordinate seasonal labor during peak flowering, pollination, and berry-harvest periods.
  • Follow all safety protocols, including proper personal protective equipment use when handling crop-protection products, seed-processing tasks, and field-crop tasks.
Desired Qualifications
  • A bachelor's degree in an agricultural, plant-science, or seed-production background is preferred.
  • An associate's or bachelor's degree in horticulture, agronomy, plant breeding, botany, or a related field is preferred.
  • Prior experience with potato production, TPS or hybrid-seed crossing, or other hand-pollinated crop systems is preferred.
  • Familiarity with breeding-nursery protocols, cross or pedigree tracking, or germplasm databases is preferred.
  • Experience with pollination, seed-extraction and fermentation processes, and seed-cleaning equipment is preferred.
  • Experience with greenhouse pest and disease scouting and integrated pest management practices is preferred.

About the company

O

Ohalo

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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

South San Francisco, California

Founded

2019

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • June and August 2026 hires of Justin Wolfe and Rob Dunlop accelerate go-to-market execution.
  • May 2026 Allied Potato partnership expands distribution for Boosted Potato into commercial channels.
  • Florida strawberry and almond programs extend revenue optionality beyond potatoes by 2027.

What critics are saying

  • Commercial adoption depends on farmer behavior; 2026 potato launches still need field-proof economics.
  • Ohalo's disease-resistant strawberry enters experimental trials in 2025; commercialization starts years later.
  • Corteva, Syngenta, and Inari pressure Ohalo before scale economics prove true seed superiority.

What makes Ohalo unique

  • Boosted Breeding preserves entire plant genomes, collapsing breeding cycles from years to seasons.
  • Ohalo commercializes true potato seeds, replacing bulky disease-prone tubers with planter-ready seed.
  • USDA cleared FruitionOne in 2024, validating its self-fertile Nonpareil almond platform.

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Benefits

  • Remote Work Options

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

5%

1 year growth

-2%

2 year growth

6%
PR Newswire
Aug 18th, 2026
Ohalo appoints Rob Dunlop as VP of global commercial to scale Boosted Breeding seed adoption

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.

PR Newswire
Jul 2nd, 2026
Former Syngenta president Justin Wolfe joins Ohalo as COO to scale Boosted seed business

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.

PR Newswire
Dec 20th, 2024
Uf/Ifas, Florida Strawberry Industry, And Ohalo Join Forces To Combat Devastating Fungal Disease

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

AgFunder
May 21st, 2024
Ohalo Unveils $100M 'Boosted Breeding' Tech

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.

AgFunder
Mar 26th, 2024
Khosla, Friedberg Strike Positive Note Amid Agrifoodtech Funding Winter: ‘Exceptional Founders Have Nothing To Worry About’

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