Principal Scientist

Job Title: Principal Scientist / GM – BioAg

Location: Gurgaon

About Us:

Absolute is a bioscience company founded with the idea of a shared future where both people & planet win together. The company’s vision is to build a thriving future for people and the planet by harnessing the power of nature, science & exponential innovation. Today, Absolute’s Bio division has evolved into a generation-defining bioscience company across Agriculture, Human Health & Sustainable Materials. Operating across 30+ countries, Absolute’s Agtech businesses encompass – Climate Solutions, Soil Health testing, Crop Insurance & Tech driven commodities trade.

Absolute’s revolutionary businesses are backed by Xenesis, the R&D arm of Absolute, a stellar team of 150+ scientists making breakthroughs in their fields. Absolute is backed by Sequoia, Tiger Global, and Alpha Wave, Absolute's angels include Nadir Godrej- MD of Godrej Industries, Kamal Aggarwal- Promoter of Haldiram, and Kunal Shah- founder of CRED, among others.

The Role :

We are seeking a visionary scientific leader to head our Bio Agri-inputs team. This is a high-impact leadership role within the Xenesis leadership team, responsible for driving the strategy, execution, and commercialization of our next-generation biological agri-inputs portfolio. You will own the end-to-end product pipeline for development and commercialization of products focused on improving soil health, plant nutrition and crop protection.

The role will include the following:

1. Leadership & Strategic Planning

• Develop and drive a strategic vision for the BioAgri portfolio aligned with business goals and customer needs.
• Lead technical excellence teams to deliver innovative products from early development to commercialization for global markets.

2. Research & Product Innovation

• Oversee end-to-end R&D for biofertilizers, biostimulants, biocontrol, PGPR, and crop protection solutions with strong scientific and regulatory rigor.
• Identify and develop novel active ingredients (peptides, metabolites, botanicals, hormones, etc.) and formulations, including soil microbiome engineering.
• Lead patent filing, scientific publications, and ensure regulatory compliance.

3. Collaboration & Partnerships

• Work cross-functionally to align product development with commercial strategy and market needs.
• Build strategic collaborations with research institutions, regulatory bodies, and industry partners to accelerate innovation.

4. Regulatory & Global Representation

• Ensure adherence to regulatory frameworks and IP protection processes.
• Represent the organization at global scientific forums and establish the company as a thought leader in the agri-inputs space.

Who are we looking for:

• A technical leader with a desire to work in the impact space, with a passion to make the world a "better" place.
• Demonstrated ability to work with highly skilled teams in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial and technical environment.
• Ph.D. in Plant biology, crop science, agriculture biotechnology, Agri-input science or related fields.
• 12+ years of postdoctoral experience in Agri-biotech companies, or biotechnology industries for Agri-input formulations.
• Experience in developing novel bio-based formulations for crop improvement and crop protection.
• Experience in working with multiple active ingredients for agri-input bio-formulations.
• A strong grasp of fundamental plant molecular biology techniques is essential.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, capable of conveying technical information in a clear and thorough manner