Tomato pre-breeder

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

The Tomato Pre-Breeder is responsible for developing and delivering enhanced germplasm and trait-specific breeding materials that support breeders in developing improved tomato hybrids. The role focuses on reducing the gap between genetic resources and applied breeding programs.

Axia is an innovative vegetable seed breeding company. Since starting in 2010, the company has built a strong name for itself in the tomato sector. Axia focuses in the Netherlands on tomatoes with more than 34,000 m² of glass, and also breeds cucumber, pepper, eggplant and zucchini in countries such as Spain and Turkey. The involvement of the team and modern breeding techniques are behind this success.

What are you going to do?

• Identification and development of pre-breeding crosses and populations aiming to contribute to continuous improvement of applied breeding programs.
• Germplasm characterization for novel trait identification and trait validation.
• Establishment of phenotyping and screening methods for germplasm development, in collaboration with other departments (phytopathology, molecular genetics and genomics, and product development).
• Collection and analysis of phenotypic and genotypic data, and maintenance of germplasm databases.
• Organization and oversight of internal and external trials, and supervision of greenhouse operational teams.
• Collaboration in the development and validation of molecular markers.
• Support of QTL mapping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and gene discovery activities.
• Support to breeders in deploying pre-breeding germplasm into their breeding programs.
• Monitoring of scientific publications and active contribution to continuous improvement of tomato breeding programs.

Competences

• MSc or PhD in Plant Breeding, Genetics, Plant Sciences, or related fields.
• Hands-on experience in plant breeding or molecular genetics, preferably in Solanaceae crops.
• Knowledge of marker-assisted selection, QTL mapping, and molecular breeding tools.
• Data analysis skills.
• Excellent communication and documentation abilities.
• Familiarity with genomic selection and high-throughput phenotyping.
• Experience with disease resistance screening and pathology.

Key competences

• Scientific curiosity and problem-solving mindset.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills.
• Collaborative approach with breeders and researchers, team player.

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.