Specialist IPM - Pemberton, Onsite
Employment type: Permanent, Full Time

Hours: 40 Hours per week

Salary : $29.50 CAD an hour to start

A little about us

Hi, we’re Aurora Cannabis, and we’re so excited to meet you!

We’re a global cannabis company driven by our passion to help people improve their lives. We have a diverse team who bring their best every day so Aurora can be the cannabis provider of choice for patients and consumers.  We love our work, and we especially love our high quality, innovative brands that make up the Aurora family – from Aurora, Aurora Drift, San Rafael ’71 and Whistler. Our people combined with our collective passion for the industry is what makes Aurora a special place to work and defines what we call our “A-Team”. We are a high-performing team of cannabis experts, innovators, and champions, that work, learn and win together. We think BIG, act BOLD and execute with PURPOSE in all that we do, and will stop at nothing to cultivate the ultimate cannabis experience for our community.

Job summary

The Specialist, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plays a critical role in maintaining the health and quality of cannabis crops through proactive monitoring, biological control, and pest management practices. Reporting to the Supervisor, Irrigation, this position is responsible for the ongoing scouting and inspection of plants to identify pests, diseases, and overall crop health, with a focus on high-priority areas such as leaves, stems, flowers, and root zones. Working closely with the Cultivation and Propagation Teams, the Specialist, IPM assists in the development and execution of beneficial control strategies, releases biological control agents (BCAs), and ensures compliance with internal SOPs and external regulatory.
In addition to technical responsibilities, the IPM Specialist supports the training of plant work technicians, manages inventory of BCAs, and contributes to general cultivation tasks as needed. The ideal candidate demonstrates a strong commitment to workplace safety, regulatory compliance, and continuous learning in the areas of IPM and cannabis cultivation.

Major Responsibilities / Duties

•    Conduct continuous scouting and detailed monitoring of crop to assess plant health, identify pests, pathogens, and other biological threats.
•    Inspect critical plant zones including leaves, stems, flowers, and rootzones for early detection of issues.
•    Assist the Manager, Cultivation in the development and implementation of beneficial control agent release schedules.
•    Collaborate with cross-functional teams (e.g., cultivation, propagation, sanitation, quality assurance) to align on production goals and ensure plant health protocols are followed.
•    Release and monitor biological control agents (BCAs) as part of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program.
•    Communicate and escalate all issues with the crop and/or the production process to all the relevant parties as required.
•    Train and support Plant Work Technicians in pest identification, IPM procedures, and sanitation best practices.
•    Manage inventory of biological control agents (BCAs) and IPM-related supplies, ensuring adequate stock levels are maintained and quality standards are consistently met.
•    Participate in cultivation related activities such as pruning, defoliating, crop maintenance, harvesting, trimming and cycle turnover as required.
•    Where applicable, must adhere to Aurora's SOPs and comply with Health Canada’s Cannabis Act. In addition, must adhere to ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001 (Environment Management System) and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series).
•    Recognize unsafe conditions and practices and make corrections to prevent injuries and product loss.

•    Perform routine audits and inspections to verify IPM practices are being followed and documented accurately.
•    Stay up to date on emerging pest threats, biological solutions, and regulatory requirements through continuous professional development.
•    Updating and reviewing IPM program according to the Cannabis Act and other regulatory framework.
•    Perform other duties as required.
 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

•    Strong IPM background: able to identify pests, beneficial controls as well as innocuous aspects of organic cannabis production.
•    Familiarity with cannabis plant biology, cultivation cycles, and health indicators.
•    Working knowledge of Health Canada’s Cannabis Act and associated regulatory requirements.
•    Understanding of proper handling storage, and application of biological control agents and pest management tools.
•    Strong problem-solving and analytical skills for identifying and diagnosing plant health issues.
•    Effective communication skills to relay concerns, provide training, and collaborate across teams
•    Strong attention to detail.
•    Highly reliable team player.
•    Ability to work independently with minimal supervision in a fast-paced, dynamic greenhouse environment
•    Ability to train and support other staff in pest identification, monitoring, and IPM practices.
•    Ability to follow strict regulatory, safety, and sanitation protocols. 
•    Technical proficiency with digital tools or software used for scouting logs, SOP access, and compliance tracking
 

Education & Experience

•    Minimum 1-2 years of hands-on experience in Integrated Pest Management, croup scouting, pr biological control in a greenhouse, controlled environment agriculture, pr commercial cultivation setting.
•    Pesticide Applicator Certification is required.
•    Post-secondary education in Plant Science, Horticulture, Agronomy, Biology, Environmental Science, or a related field is preferred.
•    Experience working with cannabis crops is a strong asset.
•    Prior experience with biological control agents and pest management programs is highly desirable.

Working Conditions

•    Physical effort is required, lifting, pushing, and pulling up to 55 lbs.
•    Temperatures range from 18 degrees Celsius to 32 degrees Celsius.
•    Ability to work weekends, holidays and after hours as required.

•    Repetitive use of hands, wrists and forearms.
•    Requires standing and walking for extended periods of time.
•    This position involves significant exposure to cannabis/plant materials, and it is therefore not likely suitable for an employee that may suffer from allergies to cannabis/plant pollen material, or experience other medical issues, such as asthma and hay fever, as a result of cannabis/plant material exposure.
•    Must be able to work independently and unsupervised.
 

Why you’ll love working at Aurora
Our people are at the heart of everything we do here at Aurora, and we take pride in fostering an inclusive space that inspires our team to love where they work! From rewarding career opportunities to flexible work environments to team activities, we go above and beyond to prioritize your success and here’s how we do it…    

• Flexibility: you will enjoy a flexible work environment that is the perfect blend of work and fun! With flexible working hours to compressed work weeks to paid sick and vacation time, you will be empowered to achieve work-life balance.
• Total rewards: we will motivate you to go above and beyond with a competitive salary or hourly wage (with shift premiums), stock options, an RRSP program, annual bonuses, and a health and personal care spending account for you to use for gym memberships, ski passes or staycations.
• Benefits: we will foster your health and wellness (and your dependents) with our employee benefits package including, employer-paid health and dentalcare premiums, life insurance and LTD policies and a medical cannabis coverage program, designed exclusively for our A-Team, that will provide you with $1500 of coverage each year (because we truly believe cannabis is the best medicine). 
• Life-long learning: we’re lifelong learners here at Aurora and will invest in your professional development throughout all aspects of your career! You will have access to a tuition assistance program, virtual learning activities and annual performance reviews, to ensure you are provided with the toolkit and support you need to succeed.
• Perks: we love to celebrate our people by providing corporate perks including employee discounts, perkopolis memberships, company SWAG, paid volunteer time, modern technology and snacks and beverages at all our office locations.

• Team: we are a diverse and global team of cannabis enthusiasts, energetic innovators, fitness gurus, caring parents, foodies and more, with a collective passion to nurture an inclusive environment that helps you grow and provide people better days with medical cannabis.
   

Diversity and inclusion
At Aurora, we are proud to foster and celebrate a diverse community of professionals! We take pride in nurturing an inclusive culture that empowers our people to be their authentic selves, celebrate their differences and love where they work. Our diverse community combined with our inclusive culture, is what sets us apart in the industry and equips our A-Team with superpowers – and this is why, we encourage all candidates to apply for job opportunities regardless of race, national origin, colour, religion, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital and family status, disability, or any other identifying characteristic. If you require accommodation (including, but not limited to, an accessible interview site or alternate format of job posting) during the recruitment and selection process, please do not hesitate to let our team know! We are here to help.
 

Next steps
Think you have what it takes to join our team? So do we! Apply today by submitting your resume along with salary expectations through our website. You can expect your application to be reviewed by a human recruiter (not a robot) shortly after you apply, and our team will contact you via email if we see a fit.

Think you’re the ideal candidate but you don’t meet all the requirements? Apply anyways! We would love to review your application to see if you’re the right fit or find you an alternative opportunity!

Not the role for you? That’s okay! Visit our careers page to find the perfect opportunity for you or share this posting with a friend or colleague that you think would be a great fit (hot tip: if you are already an Aurora employee, take advantage of the employee referral program by referring this posting to a friend! If they are successful, you will receive a bonus!

If applicable, Aurora Human Resources will contact you via your email address provided. We do not contact candidates over Facebook or other Social Media apps. You will never be requested to provide confidential information such as banking information or your Social Insurance Number in the interview process.