Research & Development Specialist

About the role

Halter is a dynamic fast paced workplace where our Animal team is working on Halter’s market-leading virtual fencing technology. We are transforming the agriculture industry globally, and you can be a part of that! 

We are looking for a Research & Development Specialist to join our virtual fencing team that is continuously developing our virtual fencing product. Everything you need to know to nail this role you’ll learn on the job and you’ll have to work hard to keep up. In this role you’ll be supported to become an expert in virtual fencing and from there, it is up to you. This role is primarily based in the Waikato on our R&D farm close to Morrinsville, where we’ve built our own office in an old calf barn, but you’ll also spend plenty of time in our HQ in Auckland.

The on-farm Research & Development crew has been around as long as Halter and had a huge impact on Halter’s journey; from developing the original Cowgorithm™ to Halter’s expansion into the beef industry, Tasmania and the US. We’re only just getting started, so we are looking for someone who is eager to get stuck in and join this unique team. 

What does a Research & Development Specialist do?

As you start to become familiar with the basics of our product, you’ll be providing support to all Halter farmers and ranchers around the world. We’ll teach you how to use our internal tools to analyse all the data our collars generate and you’ll be testing and validating new versions of our software on our R&D farm.

As your understanding of our product increases you’ll be working closely with talented engineers to design and develop new features and functionalities. Most of our R&D starts with some crazy idea that we work out on a whiteboard. You’ll be testing and validating the first prototype and will be supporting the implementation of the product. 

Once you know all the intricacies of our system you’ll be independently running trials, visiting Halter farms when they require on-the-ground support and could play a role in our international expansion if you’re up for it.

What your day could look like

• This role can be hard to define and comes with a final bullet point saying whatever it takes. Over the past 5 years, our on-farm Research & Development specialists have developed into varying pivotal roles at Halter where they have played a crucial part in some of Halter’s most exciting expansion journeys. The list below gives a good indication of what the job will look like as you’re growing into it, but the opportunities are endless.
• Work with our Customer Support team to assist and support Halter farmers and ranchers.
• Assist in and run trials to further develop our virtual fencing product. 
• Use our internal tools to analyse and inspect the various data generated by Halter collars to help inform decision-making. 
• Monitor farms that are training their animals to Halter and work with our onboarding team to ensure animals are progressing in training
• Test and validate prototypes of new functionalities on our farm in the Waikato. We kind of pretend to be a cow to make sure everything operates as expected. 
• Contribute to brainstorming sessions when we’re designing new features.
• Participate and lead cross-functional project teams to deliver value for our farmers and animals. 
• Visit customer farmers and ranchers when on-farm support is required.
• Whatever it takes, wherever :-)
• If you’re not sure if this is the right role for you or if you have any questions about it before you’re ready to apply, feel free to give us a call or flick us a text or come and meet us - Zane 021-1886249 &/or Peter 021-0769760.

Who we’re looking for

• For this role, we value hunger over experience! Whether you have loads, little or no experience in Research and Development, farming or virtual fencing, we want to hear from you! We’re looking for someone who is incredibly motivated, loves solving hard problems and has an incredible attitude. You can’t be afraid to get your hands dirty though, because about half of your work will be outdoors on our farm. Cattle are amazing and intelligent animals to work with and you should be at least as excited about working with them as we are.
• If you love the unknown, are hungry for adventure and have a strong desire to learn new things, then this might be the right role for you. It’s important to you that your work matters and you want to have an impact on people, animals and a global industry. 
• At Halter, we value getting shit done and this isn’t a 9-5 job. We didn’t become one of NZ's fastest-growing companies by fluffing around. We’re looking for someone who is looking for a challenge and is eager to go above and beyond to help Halter achieve our mission. 
• We’re looking for someone who has insane critical thinking abilities, can thoroughly analyse problems and can come up with innovative and creative solutions to hard problems, even when they may seem unsolvable. You thrive in ambiguity and use your initiative when needed. You’re not afraid to ask questions, to share your opinion and to think out of the box. And of course; we’re looking for someone that can have some fun in the workplace. 

Why our team loves working at Halter

• Every now and again a company comes along that disrupts and transforms an entire industry, leaving society in a better place. Few people get the opportunity to work at companies like these. Halter is an incredible technology transforming an essential industry. We have a genuine and shared connection to our mission to make a difference in the world.
• Our product changes the lives of our customers, directly improving their livelihoods and their lifestyle. Your work matters.
• Dedicate yourself to solving real-world problems alongside an epic team in a high-growth culture. The excitement, risk and reward of a high-growth technology scale-up on the global stage. Our ideas are truly valued, we are able to move fast, and our impact is real.
• Work where it all began on our test farm in Morrinsville where you’ll get to interact with our product on a daily basis. Did we mention dogs and cows?
• Healthy body, healthy mind. We’re partnered with Southern Cross Health Insurance to support your well-being.
• We offer 6 months of fully paid parental leave for primary caregivers, 4 weeks of fully paid secondary caregiver leave and many other parental benefits that support you and your family.
• Our personal growth is important. Halter offers an annual $1000 self-development budget to be used for anything that fuels personal growth.
• Our time to recharge is valued, we’re offered wellness leave and unlimited paid annual leave.
• We offer an inclusive and attractive remuneration package made up of salary, benefits and an employee stock ownership plan.

Our Office First Approach

There’s a reason you visit your friends in person, live with your family and don’t do dinners over Zoom. Humans are wired for connection. We believe a world-class, in-person office culture is the best way for high-performing teams. 

Being office first is a core pillar of our culture. We believe in-person connections are key to driving your own growth, learning, impact, and building genuine long-lasting relationships. Strong relationships make it easier to disagree, give feedback, and do meaningful and aligned work. We don’t like having heaps of rules or policies, but this means having strong, trusted relationships is critical.

Our office vibe is something special, it’s hard to describe until you’re here, but people at Halter who have come from fully remote or hybrid companies say they could never go back - the high energy and spectacular people they are now surrounded by everyday makes work so enjoyable. Your growth, your learning and your impact is truly unlimited here, and a big part of that comes from being together solving problems, innovating, building context, and constantly learning from each other.

About Halter

At Halter, we’re on a mission to enable farmers and graziers to run the most productive and sustainable operations. Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional practices. Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break? No quad bikes, no dogs, no fences. Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace. People say it looks like magic. Our customers are revolutionizing grazing with Halter. It's changing lives and transforming an industry. People join Halter to do meaningful work. By joining us you’ll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance. Our team out-think, out-work and out-care. We’re committed to delivering real change in the world - this isn’t easy, and in truth, we love that it’s hard. We’re backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, DCVC, Blackbird, Promus Ventures, Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck and Icehouse ventures.

To find out more, visit our careers website, LinkedIn & Instagram.

Join our team

Halter is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace — a place where we can each be ourselves and do the best work of our lives. Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements, women and under-represented groups of candidates tend to only apply when they meet every requirement. If you think you have what it takes but don’t necessarily tick every requirement on this job description, please still get in touch and apply to Halter. We’d love to chat to see if you’ll be an epic fit!

If this opportunity sounds like you, please apply below by sending through your cover letter explaining why you’re excited about this role and working at Halter, along with your CV, and we’ll be in touch!

Please also feel free to check out the careers page for more information on working at Halter and don't forget to follow us on LinkedIn & Instagram.