Growth Facilities Technical Assistant

Job description / Role

Growth Facilities Technical Assistant
KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)

Job Location: Saudi Arabia

Job Type: Non-Academic

Performs basic technical duties in order to support all growth facilities; ensures facilities are prepared for researchers and students; assists and supports the Greenhouse Director in all duties relating to facilities operations. Support all green house plant propagation needs.

Major Responsibilities
• Soil preparation (sterilization, treatment with fungicides, pesticide, mixing with fertilizer etc) and filling the trays/ pots with soil.
• Sowing seeds, raising plants, irrigation, preparation of seawater, weeding, controlling insects by spraying appropriate insecticides, harvesting the seeds, labeling and storing the seeds. Replanting and maintaining as described above and as per the instruction of researchers for his/ her experimental work.
• Undertake field trips for collection of important halophytes and assist in field experiments in experimental farms.
• Decontaminating the used soil, washing of used trays/ flats/ trays. Autoclaving and disposing the supplies used in the transgenic work.
• Recording the date of different experiments, for their growth, morphology, time of flowering, seed harvest etc. and keeping the record (data base) of all the experimental plants being raised in greenhouse / growth rooms including maintenance of greenhouse and growth rooms in clean and safe conditions.

Other Responsibilities
Recording the temperature, Relative humidity and light intensity in different greenhouse zones and Growth chambers/ Growth rooms. Selected candidates besides, working in greenhouse need to attend similar type of work in the main lab of Plant Stress Genomics Research Center.

Competencies
• Proven record of experience in green house operations, data entry (computer skills) recording and maintaining the data of plants growing in the greenhouse/ growth rooms.

Requirements

Qualifications
• High school pass with minimum five years of experience in greenhouse operations (as described in responsibilities) or Bachelors Degree in Biological Sciences/Agricultural Sciences or equivalent degree in relevant area with one year experience in greenhouse operations.

About the Company

Established in 2009, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a graduate-level research university located on the shores of the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. KAUST is dedicated to advancing science and technology through interdisciplinary research, education and innovation. Curiosity-driven and goal-oriented research is conducted by students, faculty, scientists and engineers to address the world’s pressing scientific and technological challenges related to food, water, energy and the environment.

The University currently educates and trains over 900 master’s and doctoral students supported by an academic community of 150 faculty members, 400 postdocs and 300 research scientists. With 100 nationalities working and living at KAUST, the University brings together people and ideas from all over the world.