Agronomist (gn) – Seed Production & Seed Technology, Wageningen

About Aardaia

Aardaia is domesticating an entirely new crop for global agriculture: aardaker (Lathyrus tuberosus), a nitrogen-fixing, protein-rich tuberous legume that hasn't been farmed commercially since the 1800s. We use genomics, speed breeding and hands-on agronomy to shorten a domestication timeline that used to take thousands of years down to a few. Aardaker is already on the menu at De Nieuwe Winkel, a two-Michelin-star restaurant, and our field production is growing 5x this season.

About the role

A crop can only scale as fast as its seed. No one has produced aardaker seed at commercial scale, so there is no protocol for multiplying it, harvesting it, cleaning it or getting it to germinate reliably. You will write that protocol, and then take it around the world.

You will own aardaker seed from the field to the bag a farmer plants. Seed production is the core of the job: high yields of clean, vigorous, true-to-type seed. Seed technology is the second pillar: making sure that seed germinates and establishes reliably. You'll report to our agronomist and work daily with our breeding and field operations teams.

You will:

• Plan and run seed multiplication, from early-generation breeding material up to commercial-scale lots, first in the Netherlands and then at production sites abroad

• Develop the agronomy of seed production: pollination, pod set, plant density, support systems and isolation

• Solve harvest problems and set methods for harvest timing, threshing, drying and cleaning, operating the machinery yourself where needed

• Build seed quality testing and storage: germination, vigour, viability, purity and seed health

• Overcome seed dormancy and test treatments such as scarification, priming and coating

• Keep traceable lot and pedigree records from plot to bag, and help build the processes for certification and moving seed across borders

What You Need to Succeed

This is an intense role. Around planting and harvest the hours are long and the travel is real. You want your work to end up on farms and plates, not in a drawer. You take ownership, move fast, and when a germination test fails or a harvest goes wrong, you find out why and fix it. No textbook covers aardaker seed, which is both a challenge and an opportunity.

Must-haves

• A Bachelor's or Master's in Agronomy, Plant Sciences, Seed Science & Technology or similar

• Hands-on experience in seed production or multiplication in the field

• Real time working the land, including operating a tractor, planting and harvest equipment

• Rigour with data, records and traceability

• Willingness to travel internationally, sometimes for extended periods around planting and harvest

• An EU driver's licence (B) and fluent English

Nice-to-haves

• Seed lab experience: quality testing to ISTA or AOSA methods, processing and storage

• Experience with legumes, a seed company, or international seed production

• Familiarity with pest management in field crops

• Dutch or other languages

• Don't tick every box? If you're hungry for this, apply anyway and tell us why.

Why Join Aardaia Now

We're a small team with a big mission. The systems you build will decide how fast a new protein crop moves from a handful of plots to agriculture worldwide, and you'll have a direct line to breeding and commercial decisions, with no layers in between.

What We Offer

• Real ownership of unsolved problems, where your work sets the standard

• Room to grow as fast as you prove yourself

• Equity in an early-stage, high-potential company

• A competitive salary

• Full-time, based in Wageningen, the Netherlands, with regular travel to production sites in the Netherlands and abroad