AGRICULTURE - A Cornerstone of Washington's Economy 

The Washington State Department of Agriculture has been serving the state for more than 100 years. Through service, regulation, and advocacy, we keep agriculture viable and vital in Washington State, while protecting consumers, public health, and the environment. We work extensively with farmers and ranchers, but our responsibilities – from ensuring food safety to environmental protection – touch the lives of millions of people locally, nationally, and abroad.

 
The agency includes 780 employees approximately and grows close to 1,000 employees at the peak of seasonal work. 

The Opportunity
The Seed Program within the Commodity Inspection Division conducts pre-harvest field inspections and laboratory testing of agricultural, vegetable, native, range and flower seeds grown under the seed certification and phytosanitary programs. The program is responsible for seed certification, seed testing, phytosanitary inspection, regulatory seed inspection and official seed sampling. The program provides accurate, timely and high-quality seed analysis and certification services while continually striving for improvements in methods and technologies to assure success for the program and its stakeholders.
 

Certified Seed Field Inspectors perform a wide scope of duties and responsibilities in the program as it relates to field inspection activities. These positions exercise independent judgement and decision-making in the coordination of daily assigned field inspection routes. The re-inspection and additional inspection interval are independently decided based upon crop maturity. They will report to the Supervisor on activities related to field certification and phytosanitary inspections for a wide variety of field crops to inspect and/or obtain field samples for laboratory analysis.

Position Information
Represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees Union (WFSE).

Schedule: Must be able to accommodate varying work schedules to address the needs of the industry. This includes rotating or alternate shift schedules, extended shifts, early starts and mandatory overtime maybe required for business needs.

Working Conditions

• Work Setting, including hazards: 
• Work is performed both indoor and outdoor in industrial and agricultural settings, noisy environments, temperature fluctuations from hot to cold environments, and may include walking on different surfaces or rough terrain. 
• Must be able to walk, climb stairs and ladders, sit, stand, bend and reach, when necessary, load and unload seed samples from a vehicle, as well as lifting and carrying heavy items up to 50 pounds.

Travel Requirements: 

Frequent driving and travel from location to location is an expectation.

Tools and Equipment: 

Vehicle and Office equipment such as an iPad is provided by WSDA to perform the duties assigned.

By submitting the application, you are indicating that all information is true and correct. The state may verify information. Any untruthful or misleading information is cause for removal from the applicant pool or dismissal if employed.

The initial screening will be solely based on the contents and completeness of your application and the materials submitted. All information may be verified, and documentation may be required.