The Ins-and-Outs of Horticultural Lighting Jobs 

Over the past decade, perhaps no element of the hort-tech space has seen the sort of advancements and upheavals as horticultural lighting. Whether it be vertical farming or cannabis cultivation, new grow light technology has changed the way we do business. Even more, this vertical has given rise to a number of new horticultural lighting jobs. 

As the leading recruiting service in the hydroponics industry, Mac & Fulton Talent Partners has worked with a number of notable grow light manufacturers. Over the years, we have filled many horticultural lighting jobs, including engineers, salespeople, managers, and directors. 

With things changing so rapidly in the horticultural lighting space, it can be tough to understand job opportunities in this vertical. As such, M&F Talent wanted to walk you through some popular horticultural lighting jobs so you can get a better grasp of this career field. 

Why is Horticultural Lighting an Important Career Feild? 

Horticultural lighting is an important career field due largely to how much the technology has advanced indoor gardening. For both cannabis and food crops, grow lights are one of the most important elements of indoor growing. horticultural lighting jobs

Certain elements of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry would not be possible without advancements in lighting technology. For example, vertical farms could not grow crops on shelves in tight quarters without LED lights. Other grow lights, such as high-pressure sodiums (HPS), are simply too hot to operate within the tight confines of vertical farms. 

Horticultural lighting helps make food production possible in cityscapes and other “food deserts.” Therefore, if you work in the grow light industry, you can take pride in the fact your business is helping curb the global food crisis. 

Sales Jobs 

Horticultural lighting jobs in sales require very specific personalities and skill-sets. Not only must these salespeople understand the nuances of indoor gardening, but they must also be able to explain the technical attributes of grow lights. This requires a mix of scientific knowledge and sales acumen. 

To find success as a horticultural lighting salesperson, you must be comfortable with the process of enterprise sales. Oftentimes, you will be conducting direct-to-grower sales with large accounts that often come to resemble long-term partnerships. Because, lighting manufacturers offer training and support on products long after they are installed. 

Engineering Jobs horticultural lighting jobs

Horticultural lighting companies are always on the search for talented engineers. To this end, designing and manufacturing grow lights is a highly technical process that marries plant science with electrical engineering. After grow lights are designed, engineers often have to work with management to help locate the appropriate parts. This requires knowledge of overseas parts procurement and budgeting. 

On the design side of things, engineers develop lights that emit the right wavelengths for plant growth. Interestingly, engineers must ensure that grow lights emit strong enough wavelengths to mimic sunlight – while also not putting off too much heat. Needless to say, this is not an easy process. Horticultural lighting engineers often have backgrounds in traditional lighting and sometimes with controlled environment agriculture. 

Marketing Jobs 

Marketing professionals in horticultural lighting have a very unique job to do. Not only must they develop an attractive lighting brand, but they must also help educate customers on the technical attributes of grow lights. Especially in direct-to-grower/commercial sales scenarios, marketing efforts often focus on informative content that appeals to an educated audience. 

Content marketing is a huge part of getting exposure for horticultural lighting brands today. Oftentimes, this content marketing involves case studies / white papers where indoor growers report on positive experiences with a certain line of grow lights. These studies often feature detailed metrics including harvest totals, electricity costs, labor expenses, and more. To illustrate, Fluence Bioengineering has realized amazing success in the horticulture and cannabis industries through content marketing. 

Horticultural lighting marketing careers are appealing for more technically-minded marketers. horticultural lighting jobs

Director-Level Jobs 

As seen in any line of work, good leadership is critical for success in the field of horticultural lighting. Many grow light companies are spearheaded by executives who have worked with other highly technical products in the past. To this end, there are a lot of similarities between a grow light manufacturer and a company that sells other forms of capital equipment, such as packaging machines. 

Even more, as the horticultural lighting space changes so quickly, the most successful executives are comfortable with the volatility of a startup environment. These individuals are not only able to “give form to chaos,” but they have the ability to get their entire team behind them through the tough times. 

Contact Us About Horticultural Lighting Jobs 

At M&F Talent, we always enjoy working with horticultural lighting companies. In like fashion, we have established an extensive network of talented candidates in the hort-tech / hydroponics industry. 

If you would like to learn more about our recruiting services, please contact info@mandfconsultants.com