Reporting to: Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Location: Durham, NC (US-based); frequent international travel, including Latin America
Classification: Full-Time Exempt
- Strategic program design and risk-based prioritization: Builds systems that scale across sites and countries, and puts audit and surveillance effort where the risk is highest.
- Courage and candor: Raises findings early and plainly, including with partners and senior leaders, and holds the line on quality and release decisions.
- Evidence-driven leadership: Measures whether programs actually work, reports results without spin, and uses the data to improve.
- Initiative and foresight: Spots emerging risks (diversion, off-types, new jurisdictions) before they become incidents.
- Relationships and networks: Builds trusted working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and uses them to get access, information, and cooperation.
Pairwise is a mission driven AgriFoodTech company pioneering the application of CRISPR technology in food and agriculture. Founded in 2017 by leading scientists in the gene editing and biotechnology fields, Pairwise holds licenses from Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital to base editing and high-fidelity enzymes – in addition to our own proprietary, company-developed suite of novel tools.
Anchored by our Fulcrum® platform and deep technical and agronomic expertise in more than 60 crops, we’re accelerating innovation in plant genetics, food and agricultural products, supply chains, and production systems. Our expert team delivers commercially viable products that benefit the planet, consumers, growers, and our business partners.
After successfully delivering 27 novel traits to Bayer’s pipeline during our first collaboration for corn, soy, wheat, and canola, our second collaboration currently underway is focused on developing climate-friendly short-stature corn – with more partnerships on the horizon. Our consumer-facing pipeline includes seedless blackberries and pitless cherries.
Named one of America’s Top GreenTech Companies, Pairwise is based in the start-up friendly Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.
Pairwise is moving gene-edited specialty crops into commercial production. Proprietary plants and berries now move through contract propagators, vendors, and growers in multiple countries, and on to retail shelves. This role makes sure that material is accounted for, verified, and produced to specification at every step, and that we can show the evidence.
The Associate Director, Product Protection & Quality leads Pairwise’s product protection program and its quality function. On the protection side, you own the stewardship program and grower training, vendor and grower audits, retail spot checks with third-party lab verification, and enforcement. On the quality side, you set direction for the quality management system and a plant supply quality program covering plants Pairwise produces and plants partners produce on our behalf. A QA & Safety Manager reports to this role and holds independent release authority for plant material.
This is a builder’s role for a proactive leader who sets priorities and drives programs without waiting for direction. You will run one supplier assurance program across propagators, vendors, and growers, report results to leadership on a regular cadence, and work closely with R&D, regulatory, legal, commercial, and plant production teams.
