---
title: 'IT Support Associate at Ohalo'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/it-support-associate-ohalo-watsonville-w245zmaecpwp'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-19'
---

# IT Support Associate at Ohalo

- **Company:** Ohalo
- **Location:** Watsonville, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-10-15
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-19
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ohalogenetics/jobs/4744361005

## Job description

Position Title: IT Support Associate

Location: Watsonville

Type: Full Time

The Opportunity: As an IT Support Associate, you will be the first point of contact for technology support across Ohalo. You will keep our scientists, engineers, and business teams productive by resolving everyday hardware, software, and access issues, onboarding new hires with the right equipment and accounts, and helping maintain a reliable, secure IT environment. This is an entry-level role and a strong fit for someone who enjoys helping people and wants to build a career in IT.

What You’ll Do:

- Provide friendly, prompt frontline IT support across multiple channels (Slack, email, in-person), managing tickets through the full support lifecycle to ensure issues are resolved within target SLAs
- Troubleshoot laptops, peripherals, printers, conferencing equipment, and network connectivity issues
- Set up, configure, and deploy new laptops and workstations, and support the onboarding and offboarding process
- Create and manage user accounts, permissions, and group access in Google Workspace and other business applications
- Support SSO, multi-factor authentication, and password reset requests
- Assist with device management and security tasks, including patching, encryption, and endpoint compliance
- Maintain accurate asset inventory for hardware, software licenses, and accessories
- Escalate complex issues to senior IT or engineering staff with clear documentation
- Write and update knowledge base articles and how-to guides so common issues can be resolved faster
- Support IT needs at our lab and office sites, with occasional travel to South San Francisco as needed

Candidate Profile:

Required:

- 1-2 years of experience in IT support, help desk, or related technical experience (internships, school IT labs, and relevant personal projects count)
- Working knowledge of macOS and Windows troubleshooting
- Working knowledge the Google Workspace environment and user administration
- Familiarity with MDM/UEM device management
- Familiarity with basic networking concepts (Wi-Fi, DHCP, DNS, VPN)
- Familiarity with AI services such as Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT
- Familiarity with ticketing systems
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical topics to non-technical colleagues
- A patient, service-oriented approach and good time management across competing requests
- Strong troubleshooting skills
- Ability to lift up to 40 lbs and work onsite in Watsonville

## Preferred

- Experience with Google Workspace administration, Slack, and Notion
- Experience with Ubiquiti UniFi networks, access control, and video surveillance
- Exposure to project management and ticketing software tool Jira Service Management
- CompTIAA+, Network+, or Google IT Support certificate
- Experience with Zebra and Toshiba label printers and barcode scanning technologies
- Interest in working in or near a laboratory and greenhouse environments
- Comfort using AI tools to troubleshoot, document, and work more efficiently

The anticipated base pay range for this role is $54,000 - $67,000 per year for our Watsonville location. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.

About Ohalo:

Ohalo™ aims to accelerate evolution to unlock nature's potential. Founded in 2019, Ohalo develops novel breeding systems and improved plant varieties that help farmers grow more food with fewer natural resources, increasing the yield, resiliency, and genetic diversity of crops to sustainably feed our population. Ohalo's breakthrough technology, Boosted Breeding™, will usher in a new era of improved productivity to radically transform global agriculture. For more information, visit [www.ohalo.com](https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4172870-1&h=3148035140&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ohalo.com%2F&a=www.ohalo.com).

Notes: If you previously applied for a job at Ohalo Genetics, we encourage you to restate your interest in the position by submitting your application.

No visa sponsorship is available for this position at this time.

This organization participates in E-Verify. Posters linked [here.](https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf)

No recruiters, please.

## About Ohalo

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Ohalo develops novel plant breeding systems, primarily its Boosted Breeding™ technology, to dramatically increase crop yields, resilience, and genetic diversity while reducing resource use for global agriculture.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B)
- **Headquarters**: South San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: David Friedberg (CEO), Jud Ward (Chief Technology Officer)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Agricultural Biotechnology, Plant Breeding, AgTech
- **Target customers**: B2B — global seed companies, commercial growers, and agricultural supply chain partners (e.g., strawberry, potato, almond, corn, and berry producers).
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "Accelerating evolution to unlock nature's potential" — aiming to sustainably feed a growing population by shrinking the environmental footprint of agriculture through faster, more efficient plant breeding.

## Products & Services
- **Boosted Breeding™**: A proprietary breeding platform that suppresses meiotic recombination, allowing offspring to inherit the complete genome from both parents (2x + 2x = 4x™). This creates "Boosted" plants that contain all beneficial traits from each parent, accelerating genetic gain and delivering predictable heterosis without multi-year selection cycles.
- **Agile Breeding™**: A service that applies the Boosted Breeding platform across multiple crops to rapidly develop improved varieties.
- **True Seed™**: A plant-breeding service delivering uniform, disease-free seedlings directly to growers — ready to sow, right out of the packet. Applied to crops like strawberries and potatoes.
- **FruitionOne™**: The world's first self-fertile Nonpareil almond variety, eliminating the need for traditional bee pollination and cross-variety planting.
- **Value-Added Traits**: Custom-developed traits (e.g., improved sustainability, better taste, longer shelf life, disease resistance) integrated into existing varieties for supply chain improvements.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of approximately $100M (USD 99,999,969) across multiple rounds:
  - Seed (2019): Not disclosed
  - Early-stage venture (2021): $3.7M
  - Venture round (2024-01-25): $40.0M (2 investors)
  - Venture round (2024-05-01): $60.0M
  - Series B (2025-01-01): 1 investor
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Incubated by The Production Board (venture firm founded by David Friedberg). Partners include University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc., Florida Strawberry Growers Association, and the Ohalo Strawberry Consortium.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 40% YoY to 85 employees (with 17 active job postings as of mid-2025).
  - Recognized on the "50 by 2050" list by Congruent Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank for climate tech innovation.
  - Launched FruitionOne™ (self-fertile almond) and the Ohalo Strawberry Consortium in 2025.
  - Expanding into Brazil and United Arab Emirates.
  - CEO David Friedberg has appeared on the All-In Podcast with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, signaling high-level policy engagement.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary technology moat**: Boosted Breeding™ is a breakthrough approach that fundamentally changes plant reproduction — enabling entire genome inheritance from both parents. This is a patentable, hard-to-replicate scientific platform applicable to nearly every crop.
- **Speed to market**: Traditional breeding can take decades; Ohalo's method can deliver improved varieties in a fraction of the time, with predictable outcomes.
- **Broad crop applicability**: The platform works across potatoes, corn, berries, almonds, and more — not limited to a single crop.
- **Strong investor & partner network**: Backed by The Production Board and partnered with major agricultural research institutions and grower consortia.
- **Sustainability angle**: Higher yields with fewer inputs (water, land, pesticides) aligns with global climate and food security trends.

## Strategic Focus
- **Commercial expansion**: Scaling the Ohalo Strawberry Consortium and potato programs, with plans to enter corn, berries, and other row crops.
- **Partnership development**: Collaborating with seed companies, grower groups, and research institutions to license Boosted Breeding™ and distribute True Seed™.
- **R&D pipeline**: Developing new self-fertile and disease-resistant varieties (e.g., FruitionOne™ almonds) and integrating value-added traits.
- **Global footprint**: Building operations in Brazil and UAE to address international agricultural markets.
- **Talent acquisition**: Actively hiring across engineering, plant breeding, commercial sales, and operations — with 17 open roles as of mid-2025.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven work**: Directly contribute to solving global food security and sustainability challenges through cutting-edge science.
- **Innovative culture**: Described as "Farmers First," with a bias toward action, iteration, and finding truth — a fast-paced, science-first environment.
- **Talent & team**: Employees come from top institutions (UC Davis, Iowa State, North Carolina State) and companies (Driscoll's, Zymergen, Inari). The team includes 29 researchers (26% of workforce) and 20 technical staff (18%).
- **Growth trajectory**: 40% YoY headcount growth and $100M in funding signal a well-resourced, scaling company with career advancement opportunities.
- **Diverse roles**: Openings range from Senior Full Stack Engineer and Quantitative Geneticist to Technical Sales Representatives and Greenhouse Technicians — appealing to both technical and commercial talent.
- **Location & flexibility**: Headquarters in South San Francisco, CA, with remote roles available for some positions (e.g., Technical Sales Representatives across multiple US regions). Presence in Brazil and UAE offers global exposure.
- **Perks**: Not explicitly listed, but as a well-funded private company, competitive compensation and equity are likely. The company emphasizes "improving the lives of farmers" and a collaborative, truth-seeking culture.

## Sources
1. [ohalo.com](https://www.ohalo.com/)
2. [ohalo.com/about](https://www.ohalo.com/about)
3. [Greenhouse Careers](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ohalogenetics)
4. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohalo_Genetics)
5. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohalo-genetics)

## Other roles at Ohalo

- [Gene Editing Lab Technician (2nd Shift)](https://feeny.ai/job/gene-editing-lab-technician-2nd-shift-ohalo-south-san-francisco-0nn874vtcy7g) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Gene Editing Lab Technician (1st Shift)](https://feeny.ai/job/gene-editing-lab-technician-1st-shift-ohalo-south-san-francisco-wtjwhtfy1fsx) — South San Francisco, CA
- [IPM Supervisor](https://feeny.ai/job/ipm-supervisor-ohalo-watsonville-m3a83ne53cdz) — Watsonville, CA
- [Head of Procurement](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-procurement-ohalo-south-san-francisco-d2rvrqctq08q) — South San Francisco, CA
- [LATAM Commercial Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/latam-commercial-lead-ohalo-sao-paulo-ra1mr6kk8jsq) — São Paulo, Brazil
- [Product Manager - AI-Native Business Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/product-manager-ai-native-business-systems-ohalo-south-san-francisco-zyfvp2sjy3dv) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Greenhouse Maintenance Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/greenhouse-maintenance-technician-ohalo-watsonville-5as3swhxtpyj) — Watsonville, CA
- [Field Technician – True Potato Seed Production](https://feeny.ai/job/field-technician-true-potato-seed-production-ohalo-watsonville-m0pbwqchnncx) — Watsonville, CA
- [Global Crop Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/global-crop-product-manager-ohalo-south-san-francisco-6byvykwzefnx) — South San Francisco, CA
- [Executive Assistant to the President & Chief Operating Officer](https://feeny.ai/job/executive-assistant-to-the-president-chief-operating-officer-ohalo-south-san-qbkhy1hs25g4) — South San Francisco, CA