News
Staff Profile - Jared Loader
Date: 1 Aug 2022
Author: Hill Laboratories
“In 2008, after completing a biotoxin Postdoc at AgResearch (Ruakura), an Environmental Organic Technologist position was advertised at Hill Laboratories. I was fortunate enough to get the position and stayed for just under three years.
During this time I was blown away by the scope and breadth of the testing done at Hill Labs and the ‘institutional’ knowledge of the team.
I then went to work in the USA for the Food and Drug Administration as a result of the Gulf of Mexico’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster. In 2013, my partner and I decided to return to NZ and I was offered a position again at Hill Labs in a Technologist Team Leader role.
Overall, twelve years of my career has been in the Technology R&D team at Hill Laboratories.
A typical day consists of my team and I keeping our projects on track and ensuring our methods are scientifically and technically sound. I also make sure we are working on the right balance of tasks, for example project work, operational improvements and troubleshooting. This allows us to understand whether we need to change priority or divert resources if certain areas require more attention.
One of the best parts about working at Hill Labs is the people. This is because our staff seem to be on the same page across the entire company which makes life easier. I also enjoy mentoring and training younger staff as well as learning from and working with folks smarter than I. Part of my role I appreciate is solving problems for clients to provide them with quality solutions so they can keep doing what they do. Learning about how our results are used by clients is important, because this helps us develop tests that are fit for purpose. I enjoy planning out and developing new methods and tests, either to improve our services or to offer new services to support new markets.
Outside of work, my partner Amy and I have a two year old daughter and our little princess keeps us busy. Weekends are spent with family & friends where possible. In my spare time, I DIY around the house. We have a section on the outskirts of Hamilton with enough land, trees and grass to keep me busy (originally from Gisborne, I do miss the coast). You’ll also find me in the garage tinkering on cars, one of which is a Ford Falcon GT that I’ve owned for over 20 years and have fully rebuilt and restored.”