Lead Cultivar Technician
Senior hands-on cultivar specialist who leads a watch team of Cultivar Technicians, owns SOP execution quality across the greenhouse grid, and is accountable for specimen-health KPIs in their assigned zones.
Role Summary
The Lead Cultivar Technician is the senior pair of hands on the greenhouse floor and the watch lead who keeps the cultivation grid running to standard. Reporting to the Greenhouse Operations Manager, the Lead owns SOP execution quality for a watch team of Cultivar Technicians across the GCL-1 through GCL-3 zones — dosing, irrigation, environmental tuning, pest scouting, and specimen-health logging — and is personally accountable for the specimen-health KPIs in their assigned bays. The Lead allocates the shift's work orders, verifies PhytoSense Mesh readings before they enter the record, mentors junior Cultivar Technicians, and is the first escalation point when a specimen drifts toward an aggression or stress threshold. It is a hands-on, in-bay role with shift-lead authority and KPI accountability.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the cultivation watch team across assigned GCL-1..GCL-3 zones, allocating work orders and verifying SOP-correct execution of dosing, irrigation, and environmental tuning.
- Own specimen-health KPIs for the zone — turgor, growth-rate, and stress indices — to target and drive corrective action when readings drift on the PhytoSense Mesh.
- Verify and sign off handset readings, dosing logs, and pest-scouting records before they enter the cultivation record under change control.
- Mentor and check-out Cultivar Technician I and II staff, owning their on-the-job competency sign-offs against the HR Training Matrix.
- Monitor the Botanical Tracking Metrics for the zone and escalate aggression-trend or containment-relevant readings to Operations and Biosafety.
- Run shift handover, maintain bay readiness, and coordinate specimen moves between cultivation and containment grades with the duty officer.
- Enforce PPE discipline, toxin-handling controls, and CHLORA work-order closeout for every task on the watch.
- Cover the cultivation on-call escalation tier (1 week in 4) for after-hours specimen-health events.
Required Qualifications
- 4+ years of hands-on cultivation/horticulture in a controlled-environment or containment setting, including 1+ year at a Technician II level.
- Demonstrated SOP execution quality and the judgment to verify others' work and logs.
- Working command of PhytoSense handset readings, dosing math, and pest/pathogen scouting.
- Current Cultivar Handling Tier 2 certification and able to obtain GCL-3 clearance.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior shift-lead or team-lead experience in a regulated cultivation environment.
- Familiarity with CHLORA work-order workflows and aggression-index watch programs.
- Experience handling GCL-3 cultivars and toxin-bearing specimens.
Certifications Required
Certification curricula are delivered through the Verdant Academy; currency is tracked on the HR Training Matrix.
| Certification | Status at Hire | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Cultivar Handling Tier 2 | Required | 24 months |
| PhytoSense Operation | Required | 24 months |
| Toxin Handling Tier 2 | Required ≤90d | Annual |
| Emergency Response — Basic | Required ≤90d | Annual |
Physical & Hazard Requirements
- Stand, kneel, and reach for extended periods; lift up to 20 kg of media, vessels, and specimens.
- Fine motor work for dosing and grafting; tolerate humid, warm bays and PPE for full shifts.
- Wear PPE per bay grade, pass GCL-3 medical fitness, and respond to on-call escalation.
Compensation Band
Career Path
Lead Cultivar Technician (T4) is reached from Cultivar Technician II (VC-HR-J014) and supervises both Cultivar Technician I (VC-HR-J012) and Cultivar Technician II (VC-HR-J014). The role progresses toward Greenhouse Operations Manager and adjacent moves into the Biosafety & Containment Officer (VC-HR-J030) track.