R&D Operations Specialist

A. Duda & Sons•Salinas, CA

About The Position

The R&D Operations Specialist is a key operational role within the Research & Development team, supporting the successful execution of celery breeding, celery seed production and production research through comprehensive administrative, logistical, and facility-based functions. This position is responsible for managing seed inventory billing, budgeting, invoicing, international shipping, and freight coordination to ensure smooth day-to-day operations across research facilities—including greenhouses, laboratories, and the seed mill. This position is responsible for improving or creating processes that will drive the efficiency of the department while meeting necessary deadlines through effective time management. The R&D Operations Specialist ensures compliance with safety standards, coordinates inspections and phytosanitary documentation, and provides critical support for patent data management and proprietary variety agreements. This role contributes to the overall efficiency and organization of the R&D program.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, business administration, or other related field, preferred.
California Driver's license required.
Understanding of agriculture industry, especially seed production.
Capable of writing reports, maintain accurate records and is generally meticulous.
Working environment is mainly office and warehouse, but may include limited time in cold room, laboratory, greenhouse and field.
Able to travel to multiple locations (CA, AZ, MI, FL, etc) and spend 5% time on the road.
Works well on own and in a team environment.
Must be willing to work outside of normal business hours (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM) and weekends, when necessary.

Nice To Haves

Bilingual preferred, but not required.

Responsibilities

Process and manage fiscal seed inventory billing, including domestic and international transactions.
Coordinate shipping, freight logistics, phytosanity inspections and invoice transmittals to support breeding selections, seed production, seed distribution domestically and internationally, and research operations.
Monitor R&D budgets and assist with monthly financial tracking and reporting.
Assist in overseeing facility operations, including the front office, seed mill, laboratories, greenhouses, and yard maintenance.
Support the Director of R&D and Assistant Seed Production Manager in their oversight of facilities.
Support legal and compliance processes related to proprietary variety agreements, leases, and other vendor agreements, including the timeliness of renewing expired or nearly expired contracts.
Coordinate efforts to enter patent data, prepare data tables, and compile documentation necessary for patent filings.
Other job duties as assigned.