Global Environmental Leader

Join Vylor - Powering the Future of Agriculture​

At Vylor, we’re advancing agriculture through breakthrough science - combining elite germplasm, cutting-edge biotech, and next-generation expertise in gene editing and molecular breeding. Our portfolio includes trusted industry brands like Pioneer®, Brevant®, and Hoegemeyer®, delivering performance farmers rely on.​

Join us to help scale innovation globally and shape what’s next in crop science. The Global Environmental Leader will lead Vylor’s environmental function and a team of environmental professionals supporting manufacturing and production facilities, research locations, laboratories, agricultural operations, and corporate functions.

This position is responsible for establishing environmental strategy, governance, technical direction, and compliance-assurance expectations across the organization. The leader will ensure significant environmental risks and regulatory requirements are consistently identified, evaluated, communicated, and managed while developing practical solutions that support Vylor’s operational and business objectives.

The successful candidate will bring strong people leadership, environmental engineering and regulatory expertise, and sound business judgment. The role requires broad knowledge of environmental regulations and demonstrated ability to lead across multiple environmental disciplines, geographies, and operating environments.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead, develop, and prioritize Vylor’s global environmental team, directing resources toward the most significant environmental risks and compliance priorities.
• Define and implement environmental strategy, governance, standards, management systems, and consistent ways of working across the organization.
• Provide technical leadership for permitting, regulatory interpretation, and compliance strategies, with emphasis on air emissions and permitting, while maintaining capability across wastewater, stormwater, groundwater, waste, pesticide, refrigerant, storage tank, remediation, and release requirements.
• Lead environmental compliance assurance, including audits, significant finding review, corrective-action strategies, and systemic trend identification, and provide escalation support for significant releases, compliance events, and enforcement matters.
• Establish processes to track and communicate changing regulations, advise EHS, business, and site leaders on risks and priorities, and report compliance performance and trends to senior leadership.
• Develop practical, sustainable solutions to compliance challenges, and provide environmental leadership for management-of-change reviews, capital projects, site closures, acquisitions, divestitures, and due diligence.
• Partner with legal counsel and lead or support interactions with regulatory agencies and external stakeholders, including permit negotiations, inspections, enforcement matters, and advocacy.
• Build environmental capability through coaching, training, and knowledge sharing, and partner with sustainability and other functions on programs supporting corporate sustainability objectives.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering, environmental science, or a related technical discipline.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in environmental compliance, engineering, permitting, or regulatory affairs, including leading environmental professionals, technical teams, or a significant environmental program.
• Strong working knowledge of air, water, waste, and related environmental regulations, with experience in permitting, regulatory negotiations, compliance audits or assessments, and corrective-action management.
• Experience developing or leading environmental management systems, governance processes, standards, or compliance-assurance programs in complex operating environments such as manufacturing, production, research, laboratory, or agricultural settings.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate complex environmental and regulatory issues, develop practical, risk-based solutions, and communicate them clearly to senior leaders and nontechnical audiences.
• Ability to influence decisions across functions, locations, and organizational levels, and willingness to travel periodically to operating locations.

Preferred:

• Experience in seed, agriculture, chemical, food, pharmaceutical, or another highly regulated industry, across multiple environmental disciplines such as air permitting and emissions, water, waste, remediation, or pesticide requirements.
• Experience working with regulatory agencies, legal counsel, and external stakeholders, and providing environmental support for capital projects, acquisitions, divestitures, site closures, or due diligence.

Leadership Capabilities:

• Builds and develops high-performing technical teams, sets clear priorities, and builds organizational capability beyond individual expertise.
• Demonstrates strong technical judgment, integrity, ownership, and accountability.
• Makes sound, risk-based decisions when information is incomplete or regulatory interpretations are uncertain, balancing environmental risk, regulatory requirements, operational realities, and business objectives.
• Communicates complex technical and regulatory matters clearly and concisely, and influences decisions across functions, regions, and organizational levels.
• Develops strong partnerships with operations, engineering, EHS, legal, sustainability, auditing, and business leadership, promoting consistency while recognizing differences in regulatory requirements and operating environments.

Work Requirements

• Position is located and officed in Johnston, IA at Vylor’s Global Headquarters
• Periodic travel, anticipated to be approximately 15% to 30%.
• Ability to work in manufacturing, grain-handling, laboratory, agricultural, and chemical-handling environments.

Benefits – How We’ll Support You:

• Numerous development opportunities offered to build your skills
• Be part of a company with a higher purpose and contribute to making the world a better place
• Health benefits for you and your family on your first day of employment
• Four weeks of paid time off and two weeks of well-being pay per year, plus paid holidays
• Excellent parental leave which includes a minimum of 16 weeks for mother and father
• Future planning with our competitive retirement savings plan and tuition reimbursement program
• Learn more about our total rewards package here - Vylor Benefits
• Check out life at Vylor! https://www.linkedin.com/company/vylorgenetics/

Are you a good match? Apply today! We seek applicants from all backgrounds to ensure we get the best, most creative talent on our team.

Vylor is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to embracing our differences to enrich lives, advance innovation, and boost company performance. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, military or veteran status, pregnancy related conditions (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), disability or any other protected status in accordance with federal, state, or local laws.