Head of Field Research Operations
Halter
Head of Field Research Operations
Halter
Data-driven pasture management for dairy farms
At Halter, we’re on a mission to enable farmers and graziers to run the most productive and sustainable operations. Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional practices. Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break? No quad bikes, no dogs, no fences. Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace. People say it looks like magic. Our customers are revolutionizing grazing with Halter. It's changing lives and transforming an industry. People join Halter to do meaningful work. By joining us you’ll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance. Our team out-think, out-work and out-care. We’re committed to delivering real change in the world - this isn’t easy, and in truth, we love that it’s hard.
We’re backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Founders Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, BOND, DCVC, Blackbird, Promus Ventures, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Icehouse ventures.
To find out more, visit our LinkedIn & Instagram.
Take ground-truth measurement from one country to three continents. Auckland, New Zealand. Global remit.
Halter's collars are on millions of cattle across New Zealand, Australia and the United States (among other countries). The machine learning models behind them tell farmers how much grass is in each paddock, how much each animal is eating, when a cow is in heat, when she is calving, and when she is unwell. Behind every one of those models is ground truth gathered on real farms: measurements taken by people in paddocks and yards, and sensors we have placed to capture what people cannot.
Today that ground truth is gathered by a small team based in New Zealand. Over the next twelve months, that team needs to grow into a global field research operation: measurement crews in three countries, a sensor network across our research farms, and partnerships with farmers and universities. Holding it together is a quality standard that you will define and every crew will meet, so that a model trained on Waikato grass works on a Texas ranch. More and better ground truth is how our models learn to do more: every new measurement we get right opens up something new we can tell farmers about their animals and their land. Nobody has built a global ground-truth operation for livestock and pasture before. There is no playbook: you will write it, fast, without losing sight of the quality that makes our models industry leading.
The strategy. Our machine learning roadmap defines what models we will build. You turn that into a plan for the ground truth they need: which measurements, which farming systems, which countries, in what order. When the evidence changes, you change the plan.
The standard. You design the measurement protocols every region works to, the quality checks every dataset must pass, and the process for changing either. Your standard is what lets us treat a pasture measurement in Southland and one in Victoria as the same number.
The team. You hire and lead Regional Data Operations Leads in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. You build the training, career paths and culture of the function.
The capacity and the budget. You plan people, equipment, farms and partnerships so that the models are never waiting on data, and you own the budget that pays for it.
The relationships. You set how we work with the farmers who host us and the universities and research groups we collaborate with.
The answer to "is the data the problem?" When a model underperforms, you are the person who can say, with evidence, whether the ground truth is the reason. You are the senior voice for measurement inside Halter.
You will spend a real share of your time on farms in each region, because the standards you set have to survive contact with a wet August morning in Taranaki.
You have stood up a a function analogous to a field operation, grown it fast, and kept the data honest in rough conditions where the plan rarely survived the first week. You might have:
led a conservation programme as it grew from a single site to a whole landscape;
built sampling or measurement crews at a soil-carbon or climate-tech startup;
run field deployment or field operations at an agtech or robotics company;
run ground truth for a remote-sensing or satellite product;
led multi-site field trials for a research organisation or agribusiness;
or run a clinical, environmental or research field operation.
These are examples, not a checklist. You do not need machine learning experience, or a farming background if you learn fast. Deep pastoral knowledge is something you will build here, not a gate to getting in. What you will need is the credibility to walk onto a farm, listen, and earn the farmer's trust.
You have built a field team from a handful of people to many, and kept quality high as it spread across sites.
You have designed protocols and quality checks, not just followed them.
You care whether the numbers are right: sampling, bias, repeatability.
You have run a budget and a capacity plan, and made the trade-offs between coverage, quality, cost and speed visible to the people they affect.
You work well with engineers and scientists as your customers: you can hear what a modelling team needs and turn it into a plan a crew can execute.
You move fast and own the outcome. Every month of missing data is a month farmers wait for something better.
You are up for regular time on farms across New Zealand, and several trips a year to Australia and the United States.
If this role excites you but you don't tick every box, please apply anyway. We hire for potential and performance over credentials, and some of our best people came to Halter from somewhere unexpected. We want a team that reflects the farmers and communities we serve, and we especially welcome applications from women and others who are under-represented in field and agtech leadership.
Honestly: intense, and a lot of fun if you like hard problems. This is not a normal 9 to 5. Max velocity is our default; if it isn't a little uncomfortable, we are not moving fast enough. Expect early mornings, mud, ambiguity and problems nobody has solved before.
We are office-first in Auckland. We decide from first principles, where logic is the currency rather than hierarchy, and we expect absolute ownership: drivers, not passengers. The machine learning team is thoughtful, fairly understated, and loves a hard problem and a clean dataset. We give each other candid feedback, back each other up, and play for the front of the jersey.
Halter is a New Zealand company changing how the world farms cattle. Our solar-powered collars guide animals with sound and vibration, replacing fences with software, and give farmers a live picture of every animal and every paddock. We are growing fast across New Zealand, Australia and the United States, [insert one line of current scale: herds, hectares, funding or growth]. The company is built by people who grew up on farms and people who build satellites, and it works because both are in the room.
You will have the backing to build this properly, and the data you are responsible for will shape what farmers in three countries know about their land and animals for years.
Location: Auckland, New Zealand (office-first), with regular travel to farms across the country and to Australia and the United States. We support relocation and sponsor visas.
Reports to: director of the machine learning organisation
Team: you inherit a small, capable field team and a Field Instrumentation Engineer, and will grow the function to [insert expected headcount] over the next 12 to 18 months.
Compensation: [insert band] plus equity. Everyone at Halter owns part of the company.
Start: as soon as the right person is available.
If this is you, or you know who it is, write to [name, email]. Tell us about the hardest measurement or field operation you have built or run, and what you learned from it. We would rather have that than a cover letter.
Halter is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace — a place where we can each be ourselves and do the best work of our lives. Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and under-represented groups of candidates tend to only apply when they meet every requirement. If you think you have what it takes but don’t necessarily tick every requirement on this job description, please still get in touch and apply to Halter. We’d love to chat to see if you’ll be an epic fit!
If this opportunity sounds like you, please apply below by sending through your cover letter explaining why you’re excited about this role and working at Halter, along with your CV, and we’ll be in touch!
Please also feel free to check out the careers page for more information on working at Halter and don't forget to follow us on LinkedIn & Instagram.
Work that genuinely matters. Every now and again a company comes along that transforms an entire industry and leaves the world in a better place. Our team gets to be part of something truly meaningful, helping farmers improve their livelihoods, spend more time with their families, and build more sustainable operations.
Spectacular people solving hard problems. Our culture is designed for talented people to do work that changes lives. The team is filled with diverse, kind, and driven people who push each other to do their best work. You'll be thrown into the deep end, tackling complex challenges and building something tangible that solves real problems.
You'll grow here. Autonomy, mastery, and learning define how we work. You'll have the freedom to work on interesting problems, master new skills, and continuously develop yourself, both through your role and our personal growth fund.
This isn't easy, and we love that it's hard. Working at Halter will be the most rewarding and the most challenging work of your life. We move fast, take bold bets, and work hard to reshape an entire industry. As one team member put it: "Joining Halter is a bit like strapping yourself to a rocket ship, but it's an epic journey to be a part of!"
Halter provides data-driven pasture management for dairy farms. It delivers daily updates on pasture covers, growth rates, and leaf emergence by combining satellite imagery, local weather, biophysical models, grazing data, and seasonal trends. Farmers use the information to decide where and when to graze, optimize fencing and shifting of livestock, and allocate pasture efficiently to boost animal performance. The platform also hosts a community where farmers share experiences and best practices. Halter’s subscription-based service gives farmers ongoing access to the data and tools they need to run their operation more productively and profitably. Goals include helping farmers maximize pasture use and animal productivity, improve resilience to environmental changes, and build a collaborative farming community.
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