Our Vacancies

If you are interested in shaping the future of farming, working with break through technology to drive industry innovation and enhance food security get in touch. We are always growing the team and interested to meet people who want to make a difference.

Send your CV to info@fischerfarms.co.uk

At Fischer Farms we’re revolutionising food production through cutting-edge vertical farming technology. Our climate-controlled facilities produce fresh, sustainable crops year-round while using less land and water than traditional farming and no pesticides.

Current Vacancies

Lead Farm2 Agronomist / Plant scientist (Baby Leaf and Herbs)

About Fischer Farms

Fischer Farms began in 2017 in Tristan Fischer’s home as an experiment and is now poised to be the leader in Vertical Farming, a revolutionary approach to growing short leafy green plants. 

From the first trials in a shipping container, Fischer Farms now has Farm 1,300 sq meters of automated growing space. This has acted as a live trial to perfect the process before launching Farm 25,000 sq meters, producing 6.5 tonnes of food per day. It is one of the largest vertical farms with rights to expand to 75,000 sq meters farm and become the world’s largest. 

The unique advantages of vertical farming are suddenly coming into sharp focus for manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. So much so, that the sector is preparing for a huge boom in interest and investment. The vertical farming method is to grow Produce indoors stacked vertically under LED lights, (hydroponics) with a plant’s roots typically suspended in nutrient-rich water or mist. Temperature, humidity and light is carefully regulated within the sealed environment, and more plants can be packed into a space, on racks that can be seven stories high. The key benefits are: 

·        Sustainable, locally sourced produce that minimises food miles 

·        Uses a fraction of the land required for field-grown crops 

·        An automated, climate-controlled environment operating 365 days a year 

·        Yields 250-400 times greater than conventional British farmland 

·        Grown in a water solution – no soil required 

·        3% of water of a conventional farm (water circulates in closed environment) 

·        Crop is not weather-dependent 

The market opportunity for vertical farms is huge. Barclays Research analysts estimate the size of the global fruit & vegetable market is roughly $1.2tn (£800bn) and calculate that the addressable produce market for vertical farms is closer to $700bn (£513bn), leading to an approximately $50bn (£36.7bn) market opportunity. 

The aim of Fischer is to harness this technology to produce mass volume, that can feed the world rather than targeting the premium end of the market. Over time, the company will be looking to grow rice and wheat on vertical farms. Given the ground-breaking nature of the business, Fischer has been designing and developing its own equipment and has significant IP as well as unique plant development expertise. 

Fischer already has interest from a major supermarket who see them as the most commercially minded out of all the vertical farms they have seen. Focusing on volume, they will be able to beat field grown crops in terms of price. Part of the reduced cost model is developing renewable sources of energy which currently accounts for 80% of growing costs; a solar farm is already being developed that will considerably reduce this, as well as the carbon footprint. 

Fischer Farms is now making multiple key appointments to take the business through its next massive growth phase. We are looking for people you can share this vision of the future and help scale up the business to be a global player. 

Founder Tristan Fischer feels that it is vital that all team members share a set of key values: honesty and Integrity, high ethical standards, open and transparent, embracing a culture of sharing and listening to ideas. These will continue to be part of the DNA of the business. 

Job Purpose

We are recruiting a lead agronomist for our farm in Norwich (Farm2).  The successful candidate will lead and develop the agronomy team at Farm 2 and work closely with a diverse team of colleagues to deliver high quality commercial crops.   

This role will play a key role in developing the agronomy practices to ensure crop quality and yield meet the needs of our customers.  Working closely with the operations, planning and technical teams the successful candidate will deliver a consistent supply of high quality produce.  

The lead agronomist will manage the agronomy team to ensure all activities are performed on schedule and to the highest standards.  Using best practice we will collect, collate, analyse data and implement data driven decision making to optimise crop production.  A major element of the role is delivering the continuous improvement of our growing practices and the successful implementation of new product lines.

The individuals will have excellent organisational, communication and strategic skills, adding value in the following areas:

• Contribute to the design, implementation and management of the crop planning, controlling all input parameters to promote best in class produce to delight customers and promote Fischer Farms within the industry sector.
• Actively participating in the innovation of new product offerings, pairing system capability with suitable crops.
• Management and training of the agronomy team to ensure we have the depth and breadth of skills required.
• Data management
• Presenting to peers, colleagues, customers and stakeholders.
• Continually innovate, refine and improve the yield, quality, reliability, shelf life and availability of saleable crop, working effectively within the Operational site-based team.
• Identify opportunities to further develop Fischer Farms position within the sector through active engagement in industry forums and learning events.

Profile

This role requires an experienced vertical farmer or horticulturist with commercial acumen. They will need to be a plant expert who is skilled at setting and achieving goals, delivering value within complex projects. This needs to be a confident person who can work autonomously and who will own the problems in order to bring solutions.

• Relevant degree and 5+ yrs experience in a similar role.

• A combination of science education with strong focus on commercial acumen.
• Experience in growing commercial baby leaf and herb crops. 
• Team management is highly desirable for this role.
• Experience in agribusiness, controlled environment agriculture and/or food production is considered to be a strong asset.
• High energy level with a confident personality that thrives on change and making impact.
• Data-oriented with the ability to interpret and effectively manage multiple and competing priorities and timelines.
• Good analytical skills, ability to collect, analyse and interpret agronomic data to inform decision making.
• Provide training and guidance to farm staff on best agronomic practices adapted to Fischer Farms growing system.
• Able to engage with external stakeholders like seed and substrate suppliers and customers.
• Desire to bring innovation and best-in-class business practices to the industry.

THE USP’S OF THIS ESSENTIAL ROLE

• Fischer Farms offers an attractive role, a real challenge in a company with strong values and a vision to make the world a better place.
• Decision lines are short, you will be able to have quick impact, with the freedom of introducing changes and improvements, guided by the strategic direction.
• The candidate will have the opportunity to participate to the positive development of the image and growth of Fisher Farms.

As a critical member of the FF Agronomy team, this role is expected to support and contribute to the R&D team with regard to all matters impacting on health, yield and shelf life of the crop grown within the Fischer Farms facilities.