Agriculture Recruiting Specialty: Science and Research

Personal experience in Agriculture and Agri-Food Research, extensive industry contacts and over 3500 research-specific resumes in our database give us an edge when it comes to filling scientific or research-based positions. At AgCall Human Resources, we recruit lab technicians, research assistants, food chemists, microbiologists, research agronomists, geneticists and bio-technologists like the candidate described below:

This Management professional is the Director of Research and Development for a well-known Canadian biotechnology company. Currently coordinating the commercialization of canola proteins as food ingredients. This candidate possesses a solid technical background in engineering, research and personnel management. (resume bank ref #39329)

New to the agricultural industry? Not sure what different careers entail? Looking for some specific job descriptions? Take a look at a few highlighted job titles with mini-descriptions!

Animal Care Technician

From 60,000 head cattle feedlots, equine research centres to aquaculture testing facilities, Animal Care Technicians all over Canada look after millions of test subjects on a daily basis. Generally a hands on position, the prime responsibilities of most Animal Care Technicians are not desk jobs. With a great stake in research, science and development and animal care, Animal Care Technicians are trained to ensure the animals and wildlife in their care stay healthy.

Animal Physiology Laboratory Technician

Animal physiology can be thought of as the general health and well being of animals. The role of primary production in Canada is to raise large numbers of animals, small or large, for the production of food and animal products. Working in an animal physiology lab, a technician may be working towards understanding how the health of those animals are impacted by the many factors of their lifestyle. This includes food, water, and living environment through all the stages of their lives from birth, captivity, handling, transportation, and processing. Investigating the effects of infection, water quality, or stress on overall production quality of the animal means working with herds or other large groups to track and manage how those animals are affected by the events of their everyday lives.

Crop Sciences Laboratory Technician

Crop sciences is the study of food plants from seed to harvest. In this field a lab technician might need a green thumb as well as an affinity for science and research. Bacteria, molds, insects, weeds, and weather are just a few of the many factors that influence the health and productivity of a crop. Breeding and analyzing new varieties of crop plants can lead to better production yields for primary producers. Working as a Crop Sciences Laboratory Technician may mean working anywhere from a government lab testing plant varieties to a private chemical company creating herbicide-resistant species.

Inspection Laboratory Technician

Ensuring that Canada's foods, plants, and animals are healthy and safe is a key part of working as an inspection lab technician. Usually employed by government agencies, a tech might be involved in examining food (both human and animal) for signs of contaminants such as bacteria or chemicals, testing animal populations for disease through blood and serum analysis, examining water samples for contamination from organisms or chemicals, or tracking plants (both wild and crop) for pests or other destructive infestations.

Research and Development Lab Assistants

Generally assigned to specific projects, Research and Development Lab Assistants know the ins and outs of laboratory equipment, processes and specific trials run inside the lab. Paperwork, machine calibration and specific knowledge of lab trials are all responsibilities of Research and Development Lab Assistants.

Research and Development Lab Managers

Every research and development team needs to ensure their lab work is accurate, using leading edge technologies. Responsible for the technologies and equipment, process and people in the lab, Lab Managers are essential to new discoveries. Specific duties may include, training, trial paperwork and reporting, ensuring equipment calibration and personnel supervision.

Research and Development Manager

Found in public and private organizations, many Research and Development Managers, are responsible for leading their teams to crucial breakthroughs in agricultural research. For instance, in the 1970s, greenhouse growers in British Columbia began to realize that some of the chemical pesticides they were using were dangerous. They called Agriculture Canada, who started looking for alternatives. Agriculture Canada handed the problem over to an entomologist. This Research and Development Manager, was an expert in developing 'beneficials', insects that act as natural pesticides themselves by killing insects that eat commercially-grown plants and vegetables. They are possibly the most environmentally friendly pesticides on the planet!

Research and Development Veterinarian

Educated and trained as professional veterinarians, vets involved in Research and Development move into specific fields of operation. For instance, for those who are fascinated by reproductive technologies, there are Canadian firms who specialize in bovine reproduction who hire Research and Development Veterinarians to work hard to create and manipulate new life.

Research Technician

Laboratory equipment can be pretty complex - and in the field of biochemistry, like all sciences, it is getting more sophisticated and hi-tech every day. As such, one job of a Research Technician is to ensure that all the people who use the lab know how to properly use the equipment. Research Technicians may start in a junior role and move up through the ranks to become Supervisors in the lab. Key duties of a Research Technician may include, helping colleagues with research problems, opening mail, and generally keeping the lab running smoothly.

Research Laboratory Technician

Simply put, a research lab technician is a highly trained expert who assists in the advancement of scientific knowledge in a research environment. For an inquiring mind interested in the pursuit of new technologies, understanding the functions of complex organisms, or building towards a world of healthier plants, animals, and people, a career as a research laboratory technician may be the answer.

Working in agriculture and food laboratories across the province and throughout the country technicians provide expertise and skills in chemistry, microbiology, genetics, virology, ecology, cellular health, environmental sciences, and a wide range of other biological sciences impacting the agriculture and food industry. From labs operated by the Federal government to University research facilities to private industry labs developing advanced commercial products, technicians fill an important role to ensure that Canadian foods are safe to eat, efficient to grow, and have a minimal impact on the environment. Plants, animals, and the ecology of primary production are the focus of testing, evaluation, and monitoring to better understand the science of agriculture and food in Canada.

In general, a research lab technician is relied upon to carry out the bulk of the scientific processes, lab work, and data collection. In most labs, a chief scientist will run the overall operation. A chief scientist will usually have a PhD in her field of study and be in charge of the direction of the lab's research, guiding the overall focus of the lab, applying for funding, managing budgets, and most importantly analyzing, reporting, and publishing the results of the lab work. The job of the technician is to provide expert support to the scientist providing reliable results and managing the lab safety and efficiency to make the best use of (often) limited funds. In other words, the lab techs have all the fun working in the field, preparing experiments or studies, and generally doing the hands-on science of laboratory research.

Toxicologist

To ensure that milk, meat and eggs are safe for humans, studies must be continuously done on the feed that livestock eat. The prime responsibility of a toxicologist is to perform studies on livestock feed - to ensure feed is safe for animals and our environment, and ultimately, that related food is safe for humans.