Intern, Trait Testing

Job Title: Intern, Trait Testing

Reporting to: Loren Rivera Vega

Location: Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC

About Pairwise:

Pairwise is a mission-driven, Agtech company dedicated to building a healthier world through better fruits and vegetables. Pairwise was founded in 2017 by scientists at Harvard University, MIT, and Broad Institute who are eminent in the field of gene editing, as well as biotechnology industry pioneers. Our team is tuned in to consumer food trends, and we believe that consumers deserve more variety and innovation in their fresh food choices. We are primed to deliver that innovation through one of the best gene-editing platforms in food and agriculture. Pairwise has an exclusive 5-year research collaboration with Bayer to develop products in corn, soybean, wheat, canola, and cotton. Plus, Pairwise is developing new types of leafy greens, berries, and stone fruit, with the first product expected in 2023. Pairwise is based in the start-up friendly Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina.

About This Role:

We are seeking passionate, engaging, ready-to-learn interns to join us for Summer 2025. We are looking for interns with majors in: Agronomy, Horticulture, Biology, Molecular Biology, Genomics, Statistics, Plant Science, Botany or similar field. Pairwise offers the opportunity of getting to work with industry leading scientists and professionals in a cutting edge, industry changing, food tech company. Our interns will be integrated with our teams here at Pairwise to allow for hands-on learning in a fast-paced start-up environment. Interns will also have season long cap-stone projects that will add real value and help the team resolve real-world challenges they are currently facing. We like to have fun at Pairwise, so the summer won’t be all work and no play! Pairwise interns will not only have “Intern Only” meeting sessions to talk about their experience and share thoughts and feedback with each other but will also have events to help with career and educational planning, and team building trips to share in the fun of summer in North Carolina.

Our trait testing team is responsible for phenotyping plants coming out of gene editing pipeline, identification and development of phenotyping strategies, baseline data capture, and communication of results.  

Essential Functions:

• Collaborate and support research and pipeline activities within the Trait Testing team.
• Baseline data collection for multiple corn traits and germplasm.
• Optimization of phenotyping techniques for corn trait measurements.
• Literature review
• Effectively analyze data and communicate results.
• Assist in day-to-day tasks necessary to complete trait testing activities.

Required Education & Experience:

• A student currently enrolled in a Bachelors, master’s or PhD program in one of the following disciplines:
  • Agronomy, Horticulture, Biology, Molecular Biology, Genomics, Statistics, Plant Science, Botany or similar fields.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience with experimental design preferred.
• Individual must have a high degree of self-motivation, initiative, prioritization, and creativity.

Offerings:

• Paid internship experience in a field relevant to your studies!
• Real-world, industry work experience.
• Casual work environment.
• Mission-driven organization focused on creating healthier fruits and veggies.
• A cutting-edge, driven community looking to lead the industry in innovation and nutrition.

EEO Statement:
We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Pairwise we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align