Director of Ornamental Bio-Innovation

About Ball Helix

Ball Helix is the high-tech heart of ornamental horticulture at Ball Horticultural Co. We operate as a multi-disciplinary scientific powerhouse, with specialized divisions in Tissue Culture, Plant Pathology, Bioinformatics, Cell Biology, and Bioengineering. Leveraging our deep technical expertise we partner and support both traditional plant breeding and synthetic biology applications to supercharge our global breeding teams to create unprecedented plant varieties. 

The Role

We are seeking a high-energy, visionary Director of Ornamental Bio-Innovation to lead our Ball Helix discovery team. You will lead the departments of Bioengineering, Cell Biology, and Bioinformatics, ensuring that our Ball Helix discovery team consistently and rapidly produces innovative, market-ready traits for our global plant breeders.

We are seeking a "creative pragmatist"—a visionary who can see the flower that doesn’t yet exist and build the roadmap to create it. You possess the creative vision to inspire scientists to redefine biological possibilities, transforming "what if" into "we can."

You balance this imagination with a laser focus on speed to market, commercial goals, and budgetary discipline. More than a scientist, you are an architect of innovation, translating complex synthetic biology into exciting consumer experiences.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Define and execute the discovery roadmap for ornamental plant traits, ensuring alignment with plant breeding goals and business unit product pipelines.
• Multidisciplinary Integration: Bridge the gap between Ball’s business unit breeding programs and the Ball Helix disciplines of Bioengineering, Cell Biology, and Bioinformatics. You will ensure that commercially driven insights inform and steer Helix’s discovery research to achieve aligned trait/product goals and timelines.
• Drive Innovation: Foster a culture of high-performance creativity. Challenge the team to propose and develop first-to-market and solutions oriented ornamental plant features. You will also seek out outside collaborators and technologies for partnership and/or acquisition. 
• Operational & Budgetary Oversight: Maximize resource efficiency and pursue aggressive developmental timelines. Manage department budgets with precision. Prioritize resource allocation based on project ROI and commercial potential. 
• Talent Mentorship: Lead, inspire and develop a team of PhD-level scientists and technical leads in a fun and collaborative environment where cross-functional ideation, success and leanings from failure are celebrated.
• Clear Communication: Share detailed and relatable strategy and direction with Ball Helix team. Present research programs and progress at appropriate levels to executive leadership team, business unit partners and at overall corporate meetings. 

• Educational Background: Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Plant Biotechnology, Bioengineering, or a related field preferred.
• Experience: 10+ years of experience in biotech or agricultural R&D, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role managing technical teams.
• Technical Literacy: Deep understanding of transformation and regeneration techniques, application of Bioinformatic tools and bioengineering.
• Commercial Mindset: Proven track record of moving traits from the bench to the market. You understand that science at Helix is a means to an exciting and solutions-oriented commercial end.
• Communication Skills: Ability to translate complex scientific progress into clear updates for executive leadership and commercial stakeholders.

Personal Attributes

• Proactively pursues new opportunities and tackles challenges with urgency, energy, and a results-driven mindset. 
• Fosters a culture of diverse thinking and creativity, encouraging new ideas and turning innovative concepts into practical solutions. 
• Paints a compelling picture of the vision and strategy that motivates and energizes others (both within Helix and across the Ball organization) to action. Creates milestones and updates to rally support behind the vision. 

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to sit/stand 100% of the day 
• Ability to use hands/fingers 100% of the day 
• Ability to work in an open office setting 

Travel Requirements: 15% travel internationally and domestically as needed.

Salary Range: $175-200K

Our promise to you: 

We create excitement in the world of flowers and are the first choice for service. We deliver all the best and nothing else! To you, we deliver a work environment and a culture where building long-lasting relationships internally and externally is important. We believe that good communication, sharing ideas and collaborating on projects will set us up for success. We keep both our feet on the ground and are approachable. 

In addition to this we provide a comprehensive Total Rewards package that includes: 

• Medical, dental, life and long-term disability insurance
• 401k/Profit Sharing Retirement Plan
• Paid time off benefits including vacation and holidays
• Tuition assistance
• Employee Assistance Program and Positive Health programs
• An onsite subsidized café overlooking renowned display gardens and restored natural areas