Team leader – marker application lab

A unique opportunity to work for one of the most innovative, international tomato breeders.

Axia is looking for a Team leader – marker application lab. The team leader of the DNA markers application team plays a key role in the organisation, execution and improvement of the molecular markers selection for breeding purposes. The Team leader ensures that delivered data are on time with care for high quality and accuracy.

Axia is an innovative vegetable seed breeding company. As a relative newcomer since it started in 2010, the company has made quite a name for itself in the tomato sector in recent years. While Axia in the Netherlands focuses on tomatoes with more than 34,000 m² of glass, cucumber, pepper, eggplant and zucchini are also bred in countries such as Spain and Turkey. The involvement of the team and modern breeding techniques are the secret behind the success.

What are you going to do?

• Daily supervise the team of 3 lab technicians
• Plan and execute the routine genotyping projects for internal customers (breeders) and ensure the smooth operation of lab workflows (DNA extraction, PCR, SNP data analysis)
• Critically analyse the generated SNPs data before communication with breeders, ensure accuracy and reproducibility of data
• Monitor the data quality and actively propose improvements in the lab processes and the markers performance
• Monitor the standard operating protocols and quality controls protocols
• Proactively search for scale-up solutions for lab capacity
• Execute improvements in the laboratory performance
• When needed take an active role in the genotyping projects

Competences

• HBO or MSc Genetics, Molecular Biology, or related field
• Practical experience in molecular marker technologies and genotyping platforms for plant or animal breeding
• Experience managing or leading laboratory teams
• Strong understanding of plant breeding processes and marker-assisted selection
• Knowledge of lab automation and high-throughput systems is a plus
• Proactive towards solving problems
• Good communication skills within the team and towards other teams and customers.

What do we offer you

• A challenging position within an internationally operating and growing breeding company.
• A responsible role with a direct impact on multiple departments.
• Room for initiative and professional development.
• Collaboration within a committed team in an open and informal working environment.
• A competitive salary according to the applicable collective labour agreement (CAO).