Media Preparation Supervisor, Plant Tissue Culture Lab

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Media Preparation Supervisor, Plant Tissue Culture Lab

Location:

US - Watsonville, California

Job Family

Nursery

Time Type

Full time

Job Requisition ID

R0008875

Experience Years

3-5 Years of Experience

Employee Type

Regular

About The Opportunity

The Nursery is a critical component of the Driscoll’s business model, enabling berry production and revenue growth through the propagation of plants for our growers. The Nursery motto is to deliver plants In-Volume, On-Time, On-Grade and Within Cost.

The Media Preparation Supervisor plays a critical role in supporting Driscoll’s Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory by overseeing the daily preparation, formulation, and sterilization of culture media used across tissue culture operations. Culture media quality and consistency are essential to successful plant propagation, and this role ensures that all media is prepared accurately, efficiently, and in compliance with established laboratory protocols and quality standards.

This position supervises the media preparation team and coordinates daily workflows to support laboratory production needs. The Supervisor ensures adherence to laboratory procedures, safety standards, and documentation requirements while maintaining reliable production schedules and media availability for tissue culture operations.

The role also monitors inventory of raw materials and supplies, supports equipment maintenance, and assists in troubleshooting issues that may affect media preparation quality or workflow efficiency. By providing operational leadership and maintaining strong quality control practices, the Media Preparation Supervisor helps ensure the laboratory consistently delivers high-quality culture media to support plant propagation and research activities.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily preparation, sterilization, and dispensing of plant tissue culture media in accordance with established protocols and production requirements.
• Supervise, coordinate, and prioritize the work of media preparation technicians to ensure safe, efficient, and timely completion of tasks.
• Train and mentor laboratory staff on aseptic techniques, equipment operation, safety procedures, and standard laboratory practices.
• Ensure all media preparation documentation, batch records, and quality control logs are completed accurately and maintained according to laboratory standards.
• Monitor inventory levels of media components, chemicals, and laboratory supplies; coordinate reordering to prevent shortages or production disruptions.
• Support scheduling and workflow planning to align media preparation output with tissue culture production needs.
• Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve routine issues related to media preparation, sterilization processes, equipment operation, or contamination events.
• Recommend and support improvements to laboratory workflows, processes, and practices to enhance efficiency, quality, and safety.
• Coordinate with tissue culture production teams, laboratory staff, and management to meet operational priorities and production timelines.
• Ensure compliance with laboratory safety standards, chemical handling requirements, and applicable regulatory guidelines.
• Travel domestically and internationally as required, up to 10%.
  
  

Candidate Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science, Biology, Horticulture, Biotechnology, Chemistry, or a related field.
• 2 years of hands-on experience in culture media preparation, laboratory reagent preparation, or related sterile-technique work in academic or industry laboratory settings.
• 2 years of experience working in plant tissue culture laboratories, biological laboratories, or related production environments.
• Experience with laboratory media preparation and sterile laboratory environments, plant tissue culture or biological laboratory operations, laboratory production workflows and quality control, and inventory and laboratory materials management.
• Aseptic laboratory techniques and contamination prevention – Advanced.
• Operation of laboratory equipment including autoclaves, balances, pH meters, filtration systems, and media preparation equipment – Advanced
• Knowledge of plant tissue culture media components including macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, gelling agents, and plant growth regulators – Intermediate.
• Inventory management and laboratory documentation practices – Intermediate.
• Troubleshooting laboratory production issues and root-cause analysis – Intermediate.
  
  

Compensation And Benefits

The following information is provided in good faith as a general description of the salary range and benefits for the position posted. The actual compensation offered to the successful candidate is dependent upon experience, skills, education, work location, internal pay equity, and other objective job-related factors.

Salary Range estimated for the Media Preparation Supervisor, Plant Tissue Culture Lab role: $24.27/hour to $29.13/hour.

Driscoll’s is committed to a culture of care and offers an attractive benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, and disability coverage for positions working more than 30 hours per week. Other benefits include: 401(k) with employer match, profit-sharing participation, paid sick time, paid vacation, paid personal and family care leave, and a free Employee Assistance Program (EAP). More detailed information regarding the benefits package, will be shared during the application process.

About Driscolls

Driscoll's is the global market leader for fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. With more than 100 years of farming heritage and hundreds of independent growers around the world, Driscoll's is passionate about growing fresh, beautiful and delicious berries. Our values of humility, passion and trustworthiness have guided our mission to delight consumers around the world. Driscoll's exclusive patented berry varieties are developed through years of research using only natural breeding methods – meaning, no GMOs. From farm-to-table, we focus on delivering a high quality, premium berry experience with our many supply chain partners. Driscoll's is the trusted brand for Only the Finest Berries™.

Driscoll's es el proveedor líder en la comercialización de Fresas, Frambuesas, Zarzamoras y Arándanos Azules en el mundo. Con más de 100 años de herencia en agricultura y cientos de productores independiente alrededor del mundo, Driscoll's es una compañía apasionada por cultivar Berries frescas, hermosas y deliciosas. Nuestros valores de humildad, pasión y confianza han guiado nuestra misión de deleitar a los consumidores en el mundo. Las variedades exclusivas de Driscoll's han sido desarrolladas a través de años de investigación usando sólo métodos de mejoramiento natural. De la granja a la mesa, nos enfocamos en ofrecer una experiencia de alta calidad con apoyo de nuestros socios de la cadena de suministro. Driscoll's es la marca de confianza de sólo las mejores Berries.

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