Agricultural Technician - Lab​/Greenhouse

Department:
Department of Food & Agriculture

Job
-508987

Title:

Agricultural Technician I – Lab/Greenhouse (Seasonal)

Pay: $18.30 – $21.87 per hour

Final Filing Date: 3/10/2026

Candidates may perform these essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

• Various Greenhouse Operations:
  Graft plant samples to indicator plants to test for virus diseases and assist lead Environmental Scientist in identifying diseased greenhouse plants and processing them.
• Maintain plant identification and quality control by sorting participants’ plants into trays for testing, labeling with block number, plant number and date, and comparing plants that arrive for testing against paperwork to ensure correct identity and ownership.
• Processing Plant Materials in Laboratory:
  Prepare samples for testing by cutting plant sample tissue with razor blades or scalpels into small pieces; grind the small tissue pieces in a ball‑mill grinder/homogenizer with buffer; transfer ground plant extracts into cube tubes (2 ml tubes) with pipettes; deliver loaded cubes in proper arrangement to Serological Laboratory for ELISA testing using a State vehicle; maintain the identity of plants throughout testing process.
• General Maintenance of Laboratory:
  Sanitize equipment and workstation before and after hand; wash and dry equipment accordingly; prepare sample bags with labels for field collection.

The duties of this position are performed indoors approximately 100% of the time. The employee’s workstation is located inside the laboratory building and is equipped with standard lab equipment. The noise level in the work environment is high when the steel‑ball tissue homogenizer is in use.

See the Class Specification for the full minimum qualifications.

The Hiring Unit Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position or application process.

EEO Contact:
Office of Civil Rights, ,

California Relay Service: (TTY), (Voice)

This position may require a medical clearance.

Alternate Classifications and Training and Development assignments may be considered.

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.