The Company
Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is responsible for planning, investing, and overseeing research, development, and extension for the grains sector in Australia. They meet the evolving needs of grain growers with a vision to be regarded as the grower’s “RD&E department.”
GRDC believes it should be a valued grower asset that is open, transparent, and trusted - a true research partner who seeks to be agile and business like in their operations and improve productivity and profitability for growers.
The Opportunity
GRDC is seeking a Manager - Digital Agriculture & Artificial Intelligence to help shape the future application of digital and AI-enabled technologies across the Australian grains industry.
Working within the Enabling Technologies team, this role focuses on identifying practical opportunities where technology can improve grower decision-making, productivity and industry outcomes. Rather than developing technology directly, the role sits at the intersection of growers, researchers, commercial partners and innovation, helping connect industry challenges with scalable,
practical solutions.
You will contribute to the development and management of RD&E investments spanning areas such as precision agriculture, remote sensing, automation, decision-support tools and broader digital agriculture systems. The role combines strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement and commercial awareness to help ensure technologies deliver meaningful value and practical adoption outcomes for Australian grain growers.
This involves:
- Identifying and developing investment opportunities across digital agriculture and AI enabled systems
- Developing business cases and investment proposals with clear return-on-investment rationale
- Managing RD&E investments, including milestones, risk, budget and contract performance
- Supporting adoption and path-to-market strategies for emerging technologies and project outputs
- Building strong networks across industry, research, government and commercial stakeholders
- Providing strategic input across broader GRDC investment portfolios
- Supporting collaboration between researchers, growers and industry stakeholders
- Contributing to technology deployment across agronomy, farming systems, biosecurity and crop improvement programs
To be successful in this influential role you will have:
- Experience within digital agriculture, agtech, precision agriculture, agricultural innovation or related sectors
- Strong communication and relationship-building capability across researchers, growers, commercial partners and industry stakeholders
- The ability to understand complex technical concepts and translate them into practical industry outcomes
- Commercial awareness and the ability to assess opportunities through both technical and grower adoption lenses
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, combined with curiosity and initiative
- Experience contributing to RD&E projects, innovation programs or technology-focused initiatives within agriculture or adjacent sectors
- A collaborative and adaptable working style
- Relevant tertiary qualifications in agriculture, plant science, science, engineering, data science or related disciplines
- Experience within Australian broadacre or grains production systems (highly regarded)
The role involves periodic travel to engage with growers, researchers and industry stakeholders across Australia’s grain-growing regions. Full Australian Working Rights (Citizenship or Permanent Residency) are required.
Why This Role
- Help shape how digital agriculture is applied across the Australian grains industry
- High-impact role bridging technology, industry and practical grower outcomes
- Opportunity to grow into broader strategic leadership responsibilities over time
- Collaborative team environment with strong industry exposure and flexibility
