Senior Scientist- Cell Biology

Job Details

Reporting Lines

Job Purpose 

The Center of Excellence for Abiotic Resilience and Crop Genomics (ARC-Gen) is a partnership between Silal, the UAE’s leading agri-food and technology company, and Limagrain Vegetable Seeds (LVS), the world leader in Vegetable Seeds. This partnership is aiming to develop a world class research facility in UAE with state-of-the-art capabilities in plant physiology and gene editing, with the ultimate goal of enhancing crops’ ability to withstand extreme conditions such as heat, drought, and salinity.

As a Senior Scientist in Cell Biology, you will manage research projects in plant cell biology, tissue regeneration, and delivery systems for genome editing to support the establishment of a Gene editing Research Unit at SILAL and the development of genome-edited plants designed to withstand abiotic stresses in arid and desert-like growing conditions.

Your work will contribute directly to global priorities such as food security, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience.

Key Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

• Explore, adopt and implement state-of-the-art technologies in plant cell biology.

• Develop novel tools and methodologies for cellular studies.

• Optimize protocols for cell biology, tissue regeneration and GE tool delivery in ARC-Gen strategic vegetable crops.

• Investigate plant cell and tissue developmental processes using advanced microscopy and cell biology techniques.

• Contribute to functional genomics studies to elucidate gene functions and regulatory networks related to abiotic stresses.

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams (geneticists, bioinformaticians, trait experts, pre-breeders) to integrate cell biology findings with genomic data.

• Work collaboratively with experts across disciplines (cell biology, genomics, bioinformatics, trait development, and pre-breeding) to deliver an integrated genomics pipeline.

• Collaborate closely with Gene editing experts to integrate improved cell biology protocols into various projects and applications.

• Prepare detailed reports and presentations to communicate results to internal teams and end users.

• Participate in collaborations and interact with external partners.

Project Leadership & Management:

• Propose, design, and manage research projects

• Act as an expert in your domain and collaborate across research areas for timely delivery.

• Drive innovation and continuous improvement to accelerate research processes.

• Ensure efficient transfer of deliverables and know-how to end users.

• Mentor and supervise lab technicians.

Stakeholder Management

Key Internal Stakeholders

Key External Stakeholders

• All Sectors, Departments and Offices 

• Any other concerned internal stakeholders as required

• Concerned government, semi-government and private sector entities 

• Any other concerned external stakeholders as required 

Required Qualification

Professional Experience

• Ph.D. in Plant Cell Biology, Plant Biotechnology, or related field.

• Fluent in English

• Professional Experience of a minimum of 8+ Years.
• Demonstrated expertise in cell biology and genetic transformation 
• Deep understanding of genome editing principles and molecular biology.
• Experience with in vitro plant culture and monocots/dicots transformation is a plus
• Excellent problem-solving and data analysis skills.
• Knowledge of regulatory constraints and quality processes.

Competencies

Technical Competencies

Competency

Proficiency Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert