What are the responsibilities and job description for the R & D Manager position at Glass House Brands Inc.?
Brief Description
What You Will Own
Required Experience
About the Company
Glass House Brands is a vertically integrated cannabis company operating cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and retail operations across California. As we continue to scale, we are strengthening how we use plant science and operational data to guide production decisions, cultivar selection, and product quality.
We are building a structured research and development program that connects cultivation practices to measurable business outcomes. This role will help establish how research informs what we grow and how we grow it.
About The Role
We are seeking a Cannabis R&D Program Lead to design and execute applied cultivation research that directly influences production. This is a hands-on role working alongside cultivation, propagation, post-harvest, and commercial teams.
This position is not a lab-only research role and not a documentation role. The individual in this role will run trials, analyze plant performance, and translate findings into operational recommendations leadership can act on.
You will be responsible for creating a repeatable research program that evaluates genetics, environmental strategies, and cultivation techniques to improve yield, consistency, and quality across facilities.
What You Will Own
- Lead companywide applied cultivation research initiatives
- Design and execute cultivar trials and environmental trials
- Establish research goals aligned with production and business objectives
- Partner with Propagation, Cultivation, Processing, and Sales teams to prioritize research initiatives
- Build and maintain a centralized system for tracking trial data and results
- Collect, organize, and analyze plant performance data (yield, potency, vigor, plant health, and consistency)
- Identify opportunities to improve quality, yield, and operational efficiency
- Translate research findings into actionable cultivation recommendations
- Present findings and recommendations to operational leadership and decision makers
- Standardize documentation and application of research across facilities
- Ensure projects remain on schedule and within defined scope
- Support continuous improvement initiatives within cultivation operations
Required Experience
- 4–8 years of commercial cannabis cultivation, horticulture, agronomy, greenhouse production, or production agriculture experience
- Hands-on experience designing or running plant trials (cultivar testing, nutrient trials, propagation trials, environmental trials, or yield studies)
- Experience collecting and interpreting plant performance data
- Experience working cross-functionally with operations or production teams
- Demonstrated ability to turn observations into practical operational improvements
- Experience evaluating new genetics or cultivars for commercial production
- Experience standardizing cultivation practices or SOPs across multiple rooms or facilities
- Experience in multi-site or large-scale cultivation environments
- Experience with environmental monitoring systems, irrigation systems, or cultivation software platforms
- Experience working in regulated agriculture or regulated manufacturing environments
- Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture, Plant Science, Agronomy, Botany, Agriculture, Environmental Science, or a related field preferred.
- Relevant commercial cultivation or applied plant production experience may be considered in lieu of formal education.
- Understanding of plant physiology and growth cycles
- Nutrient management concepts (EC, pH, fertigation principles)
- Environmental control variables (lighting intensity, irrigation strategies, airflow, VPD concepts)
- Integrated Pest Management fundamentals
- Data collection, documentation, and comparative analysis
- Ability to clearly communicate findings to non-scientific operational teams
- Proficiency with Excel or similar data analysis tools
- Familiarity with METRC or regulated cultivation tracking systems
- Experience building or maintaining research or cultivation databases
- Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) or related coursework
- Greenhouse or commercial agriculture training
- IPM or pest management coursework
- OSHA safety training
About the Company
Glass House Brands is a vertically integrated cannabis company operating cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and retail operations across California. As we continue to scale, we are strengthening how we use plant science and operational data to guide production decisions, cultivar selection, and product quality.
We are building a structured research and development program that connects cultivation practices to measurable business outcomes. This role will help establish how research informs what we grow and how we grow it.
About The Role
We are seeking a Cannabis R&D Program Lead to design and execute applied cultivation research that directly influences production. This is a hands-on role working alongside cultivation, propagation, post-harvest, and commercial teams.
This position is not a lab-only research role and not a documentation role. The individual in this role will run trials, analyze plant performance, and translate findings into operational recommendations leadership can act on.
You will be responsible for creating a repeatable research program that evaluates genetics, environmental strategies, and cultivation techniques to improve yield, consistency, and quality across facilities.
Salary : $90,000 - $100,000