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Crop Protection Research Jobs in Boston, MA (NOW HIRING)

... research and focused on one problem: making crop spraying more efficient. Our flagship product ... crop protection data collected from RealCoverage units installed on sprayers all around the world.

Scientist I

Natick, MA · On-site

$95K - $110K/yr

Collaborate across R&D, manufacturing, and product teams Who You Are * PhD + 2+ years in ... protected characteristics. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process.

Scientist I

Natick, MA

$95K - $110K/yr

Collaborate across R&D, manufacturing, and product teams Who You Are * PhD + 2+ years in ... protected characteristics. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process.

Scientist I

Natick, MA · On-site

$95K - $110K/yr

Collaborate across R&D, manufacturing, and product teams Who You Are * PhD + 2+ years in ... protected characteristics. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process.

... research and focused on one problem: making crop spraying more efficient. Our flagship product ... Direct engineering testing, ensuring subsystems pass ingress protection, humidity, vibration, and ...

Crop Protection Research information

See Boston, MA salary details

$57.6K

$101.7K

$183.6K

How much do crop protection research jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 23, 2026, the average yearly pay for crop protection research in Boston, MA is $101,696.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $69,000.00 and $148,300.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is crop protection research?

Crop protection research focuses on developing and improving methods to safeguard crops from pests, diseases, and weeds. This field involves studying various biological, chemical, and technological solutions to minimize crop losses and enhance agricultural productivity. Researchers may work on breeding disease-resistant plants, creating environmentally friendly pesticides, or exploring integrated pest management strategies. The ultimate goal is to ensure healthy crop yields while reducing negative impacts on the environment and human health.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in crop protection research?

To thrive in Crop Protection Research, you need a strong background in plant science, agronomy, or related fields, often supported by an advanced degree and research experience. Familiarity with laboratory techniques, statistical analysis software, and field trial management systems is typically required. Critical thinking, attention to detail, and effective teamwork are important soft skills for designing experiments and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. These capabilities are vital for developing innovative, data-driven solutions to protect crops and ensure sustainable agricultural production.

What are some common challenges faced in a crop protection research role, and how are they typically addressed?

Professionals in Crop Protection Research often encounter challenges such as evolving pest resistance, climate variability impacting field trials, and ensuring regulatory compliance for new products. Addressing these issues usually involves staying updated on the latest scientific advancements, collaborating closely with agronomists, entomologists, and regulatory specialists, and adopting adaptive research methodologies. Additionally, strong project management and data analysis skills help researchers overcome logistical hurdles and maintain the integrity of long-term studies.

What is the difference between Crop Protection Research vs Crop Protection Specialist?

AspectCrop Protection ResearchCrop Protection Specialist
Required CredentialsDegree in Agronomy, Plant Science, or related field; often requires research experienceDegree in Agronomy, Plant Science, or related field; may include certifications in pest management
Work EnvironmentLaboratories, research farms, field trialsFarms, agricultural companies, consulting firms
Employer & Industry UsageResearch institutions, agrochemical companies, universitiesFarming operations, agrochemical companies, extension services
Common Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding research roles in crop protectionApplying crop protection strategies in practice

Crop Protection Research focuses on developing and testing new pest control methods in labs and research farms, while Crop Protection Specialists implement these strategies in real-world agricultural settings. Both roles require similar educational backgrounds but differ in their work environment and objectives.

What are popular job titles related to Crop Protection Research jobs in Boston, MA?

For Crop Protection Research jobs in Boston, MA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Crop Protection Research jobs in Boston, MA look for?

The top searched job categories for Crop Protection Research jobs in Boston, MA are:

Infographic showing various Crop Protection Research job openings in Boston, MA as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 87% Full Time, 9% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 76% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 23% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $101,696 per year, or $48.9 per hour.

Senior Data Scientist

AgZen

Somerville, MA • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 14 hours ago


Job description

About AgZen:
AgZen is a fast-growing precision agriculture company headquartered in Somerville, MA, built on MIT research and focused on one problem: making crop spraying more efficient. Our flagship product, RealCoverage, is the world's first system that measures and controls droplet coverage at the leaf level, giving growers real-time visibility into spray performance and cutting chemical and water use by up to 50% without sacrificing yield.
We are a small, technically deep team working at the intersection of fluid mechanics, computer vision, AI, and real agricultural environments. If you want to build technology with measurable impact on how the world grows food, this is the place to do it.
About the Role
We are looking for a sharp, tenacious, and thorough Senior Data Scientist to join our team. As part of the the perception team, you'll be responsible for uncovering patterns from crop protection data collected from RealCoverage units installed on sprayers all around the world. Along with being a key player in our ML team, you will design dashboards and reports and develop a data-driven recommendation engine that enables further agricultural optimization. This role will be an essential bridge between AgZen's customer success and measurement groups. Strong communication, flexibility, teamwork, the desire to take on different responsibilities and own them will all be essential skills for a successful applicant.
This role is located in Somerville, MA (Boston area) with work required to be in-person.
What You'll Do
  • Perform historical data analysis of spray applications by identifying patterns and analyzing the impact of key factors including input parameters, rates, mixtures, agricultural practices, and environmental conditions
  • Apply advanced statistical, machine learning, forecasting, optimization, and experimentation methodologies to solve complex agricultural data challenges
  • Architect and operationalize machine learning solutions including AgZen's RealCoverage Recommendation Engine
  • Build tooling and support non-technical domain experts in understanding perception pipeline performance and identifying opportunities for pipeline improvement
  • Drive data-centric ML model improvements to achieve critical AgZen milestones
  • Define and implement scalable data quality measures across complex, multimodal data labeling pipelines
  • Contribute to an organization wide data ontology and class structure for perception models
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams of software engineers, machine learning scientists, product specialists, and researchers to design, build, and maintain robust data pipelines grounded in sound data organization, domain knowledge, and careful analysis
  • Communicate technical findings, data characteristics, and limitations clearly and effectively to both internal partners and external collaborators

What We're Looking For
Required:
  • MS or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or related field (or BS with equivalent work experience)
  • Proficient using data query languages (SQL/postgreSQL) to quickly build complex yet efficient data queries at scale and using Python to build production-quality code
  • Proficient in exploratory data analysis (EDA) and data visualization to understand and present trends and their implications for the business.
  • Background in statistical modeling and analysis, including experience making data-driven decisions from physical sensor data
  • Proven experience in the use of the main data-science, analytics, modeling and visualization Python libraries, including machine learning and deep learning
  • Strong data-centric ML development, careful data curation, and the ability to quickly develop agricultural domain expertise
  • Creative, naturally curious, and willing to take intellectual risks
  • Adaptability to different business challenges and data types / sources and to learn and utilize a range of different analytical tools and methodologies
  • Analytical problem-solving skills with innovative thinking, while effectively collaborating across diverse teams and managing multiple priorities in a multicultural scientific environment

Preferred:
  • Experience with the field of agriculture or related fields such as environmental or life sciences
  • Knowledge of interfacial science, crop science and/or fluid dynamics
  • Experience with data science based on real-world physical sensors data
  • Experience with vision-based ML
  • Prior experience in developing data-driven customer facing recommendation system
  • Experience creating intuitive data visualization tools that make complex data approachable for non-technical users
  • Prior experience in developing machine-learning models relevant to biological or crop protection outcomes
  • Advanced scientific Python (NumPy, Pandas, scikit-learn) and hands-on experience with PyTorch and/or TensorFlow, including training and deploying neural networks
  • Hands-on experience leveraging generative AI approaches for data exploration, model development, or research acceleration

What We Offer
  • The opportunity to make an immediate and visible impact in a fast-growing company
  • Early-employee equity
  • 401(k) with employer matching at 6 months of employment
  • 6 weeks of PTO per calendar year
  • 12 paid holidays
  • Medical, Dental and Vision insurance

The salary range for this position is $150,000 - $180,000 depending on skills and qualifications evaluated on a per candidate basis.