PhytoSense Mesh Technician
Hands-on installation, calibration, and field maintenance of PhytoSense Mesh sensor nodes and the Mycelial Data Fabric links that carry the facility's plant-health telemetry.
Role Summary
The PhytoSense Mesh Technician is the field hands behind the facility's nervous system. The technician installs, calibrates, and maintains PhytoSense Mesh sensor nodes — sap-flow, turgor, VOC, and fluorescence — and the Mycelial Data Fabric links that carry their data. When a node drifts or a fabric segment drops, the facility goes partly blind, so this role is accountable for the physical-layer reliability that every CHLORA decision and every containment alert ultimately rests on. It is a hands-on, in-bay role with a field on-call rotation.
Key Responsibilities
- Install, replace, and field-maintain PhytoSense Mesh sensor nodes across cultivation and containment zones per engineering work orders.
- Calibrate sap-flow, turgor, VOC, and fluorescence sensors against the standards in Botanical Tracking Metrics and log calibration certificates.
- Maintain Mycelial Data Fabric physical links — connectors, repeaters, and power — and restore dropped fabric segments.
- Sustain mesh node availability to the SLO (≥ 99.3% node uptime) and clear telemetry gaps flagged on the live dashboard.
- Verify containment-critical sensor channels and breach-detection nodes are calibrated and reporting, supporting Containment Integrity assurance.
- Triage node and link faults from the Alarm Matrix, perform first-line repair, and escalate to Bio-Systems Engineering for design-level faults.
- Serve the field on-call rotation (1 week in 4), restoring containment-critical telemetry first within the 15-minute P1 response window.
- Maintain the spare-parts inventory, calibration records, and as-built node maps under change control.
Required Qualifications
- Technical diploma in electronics, instrumentation, networking, or mechatronics; 2+ years of field sensor/network installation and repair.
- Hands-on sensor calibration, cabling/connectorization, and structured fault-finding.
- Comfort working from work orders, reading wiring/node diagrams, and keeping precise records.
- Current PhytoSense Operation certification (or ≤45d) and able to obtain GCL-3 clearance.
Preferred Qualifications
- Mesh/wireless networking or IoT field experience.
- Controlled-environment agriculture or laboratory instrumentation background.
- Familiarity with CHLORA telemetry and edge devices.
Certifications Required
Certification curricula are delivered through the Verdant Academy; currency is tracked on the HR Training Matrix.
| Certification | Status at Hire | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| PhytoSense Operation | Required (or ≤45d) | 24 months |
| CHLORA Operator | Required ≤90d | 24 months |
| Toxin Handling Tier 1 | Required ≤90d | Annual |
| Emergency Response — Basic | Required ≤90d | Annual |
Physical & Hazard Requirements
- Work at height and in confined spaces; lift up to 18 kg of equipment and spares.
- Fine motor work for connectorization and sensor placement; tolerate humid, warm bays.
- Wear PPE per bay grade, pass GCL-2 medical fitness, and respond to on-call interruption.
Compensation Band
Career Path
PhytoSense Mesh Technician (E2) advances to Senior Mesh Technician (E3) and into the Bio-Systems Engineer (VC-HR-J041) design track. Adjacent moves include Greenhouse Climate Engineer (VC-HR-J055) support and CHLORA Operations Analyst (VC-HR-J052).