TOWING Co., Ltd.
- Job Type
- [Research Department] Soil Environment Researcher (Team Manager or Principal Researcher)
Don't let research end with a "paper."
This position focuses on scaling sustainable agriculture in the niche field of microorganisms x biochar.
◆ About TOWING
Established in February 2020, TOWING is a green & agritech venture company originating from Nagoya University, with the mission of "realizing a hyper-circular society starting with sustainable next-generation agriculture."
🌐 Company Website: https://towing.co.jp/
TOWING possesses a technology (high-performance soil technology) that applies sake fermentation techniques to intentionally reproduce "soil microbial communities" within biochar.
Furthermore, utilizing this technology, we have developed the high-performance biochar "Soratan."
◆ What is Soratan?
Soratan is a high-performance biochar made by carbonizing unused local biomass (rice husks, livestock manure, tree bark, etc.), adding a uniquely screened soil microbial community, and cultivating microorganisms using locally used organic fertilizers.
Furthermore, by introducing this carbon sequestration agent, it is possible to sequester 1 to 4 tons of CO₂ per 10 ares of field. In addition, it has other benefits such as shortening the time required for soil preparation suitable for organic fertilizers and improving yields. Beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is a soil conditioner that enables reduced chemical fertilizer use and organic conversion.
Pilot implementation has already begun in 30 prefectures in Japan, and activities are expanding to all 47 prefectures by 2025, as well as overseas.
▼Ryoya Nishida selected for MIT Technology Review's "Innovators Under 35 Japan 2022": https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000006.000081010.html
▼May 2023 | TOWING Co., Ltd. completes Series A funding round, achieving a total funding of 1 billion yen
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000010.000081010.html
▼First in Japan to be certified as a foundation-establishing business under the Green Food System Law, approved for J-Credits for the application of biochar to agricultural land
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000011.000081010.html
◆ Recruitment Background
TOWING is entering a phase of social implementation of sustainable agriculture, such as environmental conservation agriculture and environmental regeneration agriculture, as a "reproducible technological system," with microorganisms and biochar (including airborne carbon) at its core.
The next bottleneck is the lack of a leader who can not only accumulate demonstration results but also integrate multidimensional data such as soil, plants, microorganisms, biochar, management conditions, and weather, and strongly design and operate a research strategy and database infrastructure that simultaneously increases both short-term and medium- to long-term results.
Therefore, in this position, we are seeking someone who, based on their experience in the soil and fertilizer field, can build a data infrastructure capable of supporting environmental business decision-making, and who can also drive the improvement of academic value, including publications, collaborative research, and course management.
Due to the highly specialized nature of this field, we value both the self-reliance of a researcher and the project management skills to translate into business-oriented solutions.
[Job Description]
This position involves leading the Soil Environment Team, integrating research strategy formulation, project promotion, external collaboration, and database construction.
1. Research Strategy and Roadmap Formulation: Design research themes from both short-term (product value validation, customer problem solving, etc.) and medium- to long-term (database implementation, publication, new product creation) perspectives, and translate them into experimental and demonstration plans.
2. Research Project Management: Prioritize multiple projects, design trials, manage costs, and handle risks.
3. Integrated Database Construction for Soil, Plants, Microorganisms, and Biochar: Lead data requirements definition, measurement item and SOP standardization, metadata design, and analysis pipeline design, connecting to sustainable agricultural decision-making.
4. Industry-Academia Collaboration and External Dissemination: Plan collaborative research with universities and companies, and promote the acquisition of competitive funding, publication of papers, presentations at academic conferences, and building a presence in industry-academia collaborative research programs.
5. Organizational Management: Responsible for member development, evaluation, research guidance, recruitment, and team culture formation, including researchers and part-time staff.
【Rewards】
・Build a long-term career and develop a career tailored to your needs in a rapidly growing startup.
・Work in an international team environment where you can leverage your individual strengths.
・Flexible working hours and remote work options to suit your lifestyle.
・Contribute to socially impactful projects through your daily work.
▼ Learn more about TOWING
🌐 Company Website: https://towing.co.jp/
▶️ YouTube (Business & Research Introduction): https://www.youtube.com/@biochar_towing
🙋 Recruitment Page: https://herp.careers/v1/towing/
𝕏 (Old Twitter): https://twitter.com/TOWING_0227
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/towing_official/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/towing.soratan/
