Hatchery Researcher

**What will you get**:

- A salary between €3,000 - €5,500, depending on your working experience
- An annual budget of €1,500 for personal development
- 25 days of holiday per year and the option to buy more
- Learning and personal growth opportunities
- A job at a cool company that’s growing quickly

**You**:

- Have a Bachelor of Applied Sciences or Master degree in Animal Husbandry/Science or related
- Are curious, willing to ask questions, and enjoy engaging with various stakeholders at hatcheries.
- Possess genuine dedication to advancing poultry animal welfare.
- Have demonstrated understanding of hatchery operations from a business perspective (a plus).
- Have a basic understanding of or willing to learn Dutch
- Have a driver’s license and access to a motorized vehicle for transportation

**What you will do**

We have created a technique to find out whether a hatching egg holds a male or a female chick, so we can prevent the male chicks from hatching. This leads to a big animal welfare win, and a very interesting, yet complex process.

Our machine, Ella, is designed to carefully take a sample of fluid from the hatching egg, making sure not to hit the bird-to-be inside. These tiny drops are analyzed using a mass spectrometer to see whether the egg holds a male or female.

Joining our poultry team, you will play a vital role in In Ovo's Ella project, focusing on improving animal welfare and refining technology. You role will both be hands-on as diving into the theory. For example, if the process parameters deviate you will be the person to figure out what might be the cause from a biological perspective.

Your responsibilities include:

- Providing insights on monitoring, maintaining, and improving embryo viability and hatchability within hatcheries
- Conducting literature research and investigate industry trends to find potential opportunities
- Designing, coordinating, and executing experiments in collaboration with colleagues and R&D partners
- Generating comprehensive experiment reports for internal sharing
- Cultivating relationships and liaising with hatcheries and other industry stakeholders
- Serving as a knowledgeable resource for the In Ovo team and hatchery managers regarding the incubation process

**Our introduction (not boring, we’re cool)**

In 2011, the first In Ovo pipettes hit the lab. The goal was clear: to stop the unnecessary killing of day old male chicks.

The first samples were carefully taken by hand. It took some years to get there, but in 2016, it worked: a single drop of the egg’s fluid was enough to see whether it held a boy or a girl. One done, only 13 billion to go.

As you can imagine, we needed a machine.

The first steps into industrialization were taken and a huge impact on animal welfare was lurking. In 2020, our first machine was up and running. We named her Ella. What a beauty.

Taking a huge leap to today’s In Ovo: we’re a team of over 60 people, 3 Ellas and millions of saved chicks. We are engineers, operators, scientists, office people and everything in between. The go-getters of the poultry industry who roll up their sleeves to improve animal welfare. And Ella is just the beginning.

We believe that animals deserve a dignified place in a sustainable food industry. And we need way more people to fulfil our mission of improving the lives of 5 billions animals by 2030.
- Are you with us?_

**Interested but still in doubt?**

If you find the position interesting but have a few doubts, that is completely understandable.

So, we welcome applicants even if they have some doubts. We’d be happy to have a chat.
- Acquisition for this vacancy is not appreciated._