Research Assistant Artificial Intelligence
Oudecampsweg 35C, 2678 NN De Lier, Netherlands
Flowers and plants have a strong emotional value for the people who buy them. Their potential to inspire is endless – They can make our day, brighten up the house, or turn the garden into a paradise.
Dümmen Orange is a leading breeder and propagator of flowers and plants. Our goal is to inspire people and create a better, more beautiful world. We offer an impressive portfolio of crops and varieties to growers, wholesalers and retailers around the world.
For our Research & Development department in De Lier we are looking for a Research Assistant Artificial Intelligence.
Why is this your job?
As a Research Assistant you will strengthen the Artificial Intelligence group which is part of the R&D department. You will assist in projects to support plant breeding through computational methods for image-based phenotyping. You will help develop and refine tools and pipelines to measure various quantitative traits from images of plants and plant organs, which will contribute to predictive breeding objectives. In most projects you will work with deep learning technologies for image classification, object detection, or segmentation. You will also assist in the deployment and maintenance of these tools for automated processing of routinely generated plant image data.
Collaboration is key for this job position. You will work closely with breeders and scientists from different backgrounds (including bioinformatics, biology, phytopathology, genetics, and trait discovery). It is important to have a flexible mindset as you will perform tasks related to multiple domains in support of the Trait Genetics team.
You will be based in our Breeding Technology Center in De Lier and report to the Project Lead Artificial Intelligence.
Your tasks and responsibilities:
- Contribute to the design and development of data science methods for image analysis and plant phenotyping, often based on machine learning or deep learning.
- Support the development of software solutions to integrate the data science methods.
- Support the validation of new tools and methods in collaboration with breeders.
- Develop protocols for image labeling and annotation for training deep learning models with different imaging platforms and breeding targets.
- Adhere to quality control standards through image calibration, accuracy benchmarks against ground-truth datasets, and statistical analysis.
- Support and maintain existing image analysis workflows used by R&D and breeding.
- Keep thorough documentation and present results to collaborators and stakeholders.
- Scout the literature for novel data science and image analysis methods.
Who are you?
- MSc in a relevant field (e.g. quantitative plant sciences, bioinformatics, computer science, or applied mathematics) and <2 years work experience.
- Excellent Python programming skills (R is a plus), strong experience with Linux command line, and familiarity with Git.
- Previous experience with image analysis, computer vision, and data science. Experience with Jupyter notebooks, OpenCV, scikit-learn, and deep learning methods is a plus.
- Eager to learn technologies for software development and data engineering (e.g. Kubernetes, Docker, and SQL).
- Ability to work independently and in fast-paced multidisciplinary teams.
- Affinity with plant breeding and related biological disciplines.
- Good communication skills and can present to different types of audiences.
- Excellent command of English.
What do you get in return?
Dümmen Orange has major international ambitions with innovation technology and quality high on the agenda. There is plenty of room for autonomy, personal growth and you are part of an expert team. This allows you to optimally develop as a driven professional in your field. There is a supportive and open working environment where sharing knowledge, collaboration and achieving common goals are very important.
We also offer:
- An attractive salary depending on your knowledge and experience;
- Full-time employment (based on 38 hours);
- 25,5 vacation days on a full-time basis;
- Hybrid working (including allowances for working from home and for the home workplace;
- Working hours are flexible and can be determined in consultation;
- A personal development plan based on continuous learning and our core values of commitment, focus, passion and responsibility;
- An international working environment;
- Collective Labour Agreement for the Greenhouse Horticulture Sector with, among other things, good leave arrangements and a good pension scheme (BPL Pension). We invest in your future by paying 2/3 of the pension premium.
Who are we?
We are a leading international breeder and propagator of flowers and plants. Our breeders enhance characteristics such as colour, fragrance, and shape, as well as less visible traits like disease resistance, higher yield per square meter, and extended vase life. In production locations across Africa, South and Central America and Asia we have 330+ hectares of production space at our disposal. Here we set up our mother stock plants and propagate the starting material. Our extensive range of crops and varieties finds its way to growers, wholesalers, and retailers around the world.
With a leading R&D team, a diverse network of our own propagation sites, and over a century of experience in floriculture, we are the trusted source for industry expertise and innovation in floriculture breeding.
The products our industry produces have a strong emotional value for the consumers who buy them. Our purpose is to inspire people and create a better, more beautiful world. Our team of 6,600 dedicated, focused, and passionate professionals works across the globe. Our head office is located in De Lier, Netherlands.
Your application
Do you dare to bloom and are you ready to take your career to the next level? Click on the button below to apply for this job. If you have questions about the job, you can contact Mon-Ray Shao (Project Lead Artificial Intelligence), via +31 174 530 100.
Acquisition with reference to this advertisement will not be appreciated.