Lead Grower
Location: Ajax, Ontario
Employment Type: Full-time
Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Salary: $60,000–$80,000 per year, commensurate with experience
Reports To: CRCLR Leadership
Website: www.crclr.com
About CRCLR
CRCLR Agriculture develops practical growing technologies and operating systems for modern commercial farms.
Our demonstration farm operates as a commercial production facility, product showcase and an active research and development environment. We currently supply fresh produce to established restaurants, food-service companies, and direct-to-consumer customers through our distribution network.
Alongside regular commercial production, we actively trial new crops, growing techniques, equipment, software, and production methods. We are a small and nimble organization where ideas can be evaluated quickly and team members have a direct influence on how our products and operating systems evolve.
The Role
CRCLR is seeking a hands-on Lead Grower to lead the day-to-day operation of our test farm.
This is both a management and production role. The successful candidate will supervise farm activities while working directly alongside the team in seeding, growing, harvesting, packing, cleaning, maintenance, and other daily operational tasks.
The Head Grower / Farm Manager will be responsible for maintaining reliable commercial production, meeting customer and distribution requirements, and helping CRCLR evaluate and improve its growing systems.
The ideal candidate combines practical commercial growing experience with strong leadership, sound judgment, attention to detail, and an interest in testing and improving new agricultural technologies.
Key Responsibilities
Crop Production
- Plan and manage crop production from seeding through harvest
- Directly participate in seeding, transplanting, irrigation, crop care, harvesting, and packing
- Develop and maintain crop schedules based on customer demand, trial requirements, and available production capacity
- Monitor crop health, quality, growth rates, yield, and consistency
- Manage irrigation, fertility, environmental conditions, and crop-specific production requirements
- Identify and respond to pest, disease, nutrient, environmental, and operational issues
- Maintain accurate crop, harvest, input, yield, and production records
- Support the introduction and evaluation of new crops, varieties, and growing methods
Farm Operations
- Lead and coordinate the farm’s day-to-day activities
- Establish clear daily and weekly production priorities
- Ensure customer orders are harvested, packed, labelled, and prepared accurately and on schedule
- Maintain clean, organized, safe, and efficient growing, harvesting, packing, and storage areas
- Manage inventories of seed, growing media, nutrients, packaging, sanitation supplies, and other farm inputs
- Assist with equipment troubleshooting, preventative maintenance, minor repairs, and general facility upkeep
- Develop, document, and improve standard operating procedures
- Ensure operational problems are identified, communicated, and resolved promptly
Distribution and Customer Fulfilment
- Interface directly with CRCLR’s distribution partner regarding product availability, order requirements, delivery schedules, quality expectations, and operational issues
- Coordinate harvest and packing activities with confirmed customer and distribution requirements
- Communicate production availability, shortages, substitutions, delays, and quality concerns clearly and promptly
- Help maintain dependable service levels for restaurant, food-service, and direct-to-consumer customers
- Monitor feedback from the distribution partner and customers and implement appropriate operational improvements
Team Leadership
- Train, supervise, and work alongside farm employees
- Allocate daily tasks and monitor their completion
- Establish clear expectations for productivity, crop handling, sanitation, food safety, and workplace safety
- Build a positive, accountable, and practical working culture
- Assist with labour planning and employee scheduling
- Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and skills development
- Escalate staffing, performance, production, or operational concerns to CRCLR leadership
Food Safety and Quality
- Lead the farm’s food-safety, sanitation, traceability, and quality-control practices
- Ensure growing, harvesting, packing, storage, and cleaning activities follow established procedures
- Maintain required food-safety, sanitation, traceability, and production documentation
- Ensure products consistently meet CRCLR’s quality standards and customer specifications
- Investigate quality or food-safety issues and implement corrective actions
- Support customer reviews, audits, certifications, or regulatory requirements where applicable
Trials and System Improvement
- Plan and conduct crop and operational trials in collaboration with CRCLR’s leadership, product, and technical teams
- Test new crops, growing techniques, crop recipes, equipment, software, and operating procedures
- Collect accurate observations, measurements, and production data
- Provide clear and practical feedback regarding equipment usability, labour requirements, system performance, crop outcomes, and opportunities for improvement
- Identify recurring farm challenges that could be addressed through changes to CRCLR’s hardware, software, or operating systems
- Help translate farm experience into structured recommendations for CRCLR’s product-development team
- Balance experimentation and research activities with the need to maintain dependable commercial production
Required Qualifications
Applicants must have:
- Prior experience working in a commercial growing environment, including field agriculture, greenhouse production, indoor farming, controlled-environment agriculture, hydroponics, market gardening, or a similar commercial operation
- Practical experience managing crops through multiple stages of the production cycle
- Working knowledge of crop scheduling, irrigation, plant nutrition, pest and disease identification, sanitation, harvesting, and post-harvest handling
- The ability to supervise employees while also participating directly in daily farm work
- Strong organizational, communication, and record-keeping skills
- The ability to identify and troubleshoot crop, equipment, and operational problems
- A practical understanding of food safety, traceability, quality control, and sanitation
- Comfort working with new technology and providing structured operational feedback
- The physical ability to perform regular farm work, including standing, bending, lifting, carrying, and working in active production areas
- A valid driver’s licence and reliable transportation to the farm
Preferred Qualifications
The following experience would be considered an asset:
- Commercial production of leafy greens, herbs, microgreens, vegetables, or specialty crops
- Indoor, greenhouse, hydroponic, or controlled-environment production
- Crop trials, research production, or new-product testing
- Farm automation, environmental controls, irrigation equipment, or agricultural technology
- Farm-management, inventory, production-planning, or traceability software
- Food-safety audits, certifications, or formal quality-management systems
- Equipment commissioning, preventative maintenance, or mechanical troubleshooting
- Managing relationships with distributors, restaurants, food-service companies, or wholesale customers
The Ideal Candidate
You are equally comfortable reviewing production data, diagnosing a crop issue, training an employee, communicating with a distribution partner, troubleshooting equipment, and joining the team for harvest.
You take ownership of outcomes and notice small problems before they become larger ones. You understand that successful commercial growing requires disciplined execution, accurate record keeping, reliable customer fulfilment, and continuous improvement.
You enjoy working in an environment where systems are evolving and where thoughtful feedback can directly influence the technology and operating methods being developed.
Compensation and Benefits
CRCLR offers:
- An annual salary of $60,000–$80,000, commensurate with experience
- A comprehensive employee benefits package
- A regular Monday-to-Friday schedule from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- A hands-on leadership position with meaningful operational responsibility
- Direct access to CRCLR leadership
- The opportunity to influence the development of new agricultural technologies and production systems
- Exposure to crop trials, automation, controlled-environment systems, and new growing methods
- A collaborative working environment within a small and responsive team
- The ability to see ideas move quickly from farm observation to practical implementation
How to Apply
Please submit your résumé and a brief introduction describing:
- Your commercial growing experience
- The crops and production systems you have worked with
- Any experience supervising farm or production employees
- Your experience with food safety, distribution, maintenance, crop trials, or agricultural technology
- Why you are interested in working in a hands-on commercial and research-focused farm environment
To learn more about CRCLR, visit www.crclr.com.
CRCLR Agriculture welcomes applications from qualified candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Pay: $60,000.00-$80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Dental care
- Disability insurance
- Discounted or free food
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision care
Work Location: In person
