Postdoctoral Research Associate

College Station, TX

Full time

R-096406

Job Title

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Agency

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Department

Ecology & Conservation Biology

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

College Station, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

About Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/)

• Texas A&M AgriLife Research

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University (https://aglifesciences.tamu.edu/)

• Texas A&M Forest Service

• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/)

As the nation’s largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.

Click here (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/) to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!

Position Information

The Postdoctoral Research Associate is responsible for conducting collections-based research focused on Poaceae diversification and ecology.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct collections-based research focused on Poaceae diversification and ecology.

• Develop research questions and sampling designs using S.M. Tracy Herbarium collections and targeted field collections.

• Generate, manage, analyze, and synthesize genomic, phenomic/spectral, trait, spatial, environmental, and taxonomic data.

• Conduct phylogeographic, species delimitation, and evolutionary analyses.

• Prepare manuscripts, datasets, figures, reports, presentations, and grant materials.

• Maintain research records and reproducible workflows.

• Assist with preparation, organization, and cleaning of herbarium, laboratory, and field workspaces.

• May travel for fieldwork, herbarium visits, conferences, training, and collaborator meetings.

• May assist with workshops, outreach, technical reports, lab/herbarium coordination

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD in botany, biology, ecology and evolutionary biology, plant systematics, plant biology, biodiversity science, or a related field by the start date.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Analytical skills.

• Attention to detail.

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

• Ability to organize specimens, data, analyses, and manuscripts.

• Ability to prepare research papers, reports, grant materials, and presentations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD with emphasis in plant systematics, evolutionary biology, phylogeography, population genomics, ecology, Poaceae, herbarium science, or a closely related field.

• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, analyze data, write scientifically, and work collaboratively.

• Experience with phylogenetics, morphometrics, comparative methods, herbarium collections, plant taxonomy, grasses/Poaceae, trait datasets, biodiversity informatics, R, Python, GitHub, fieldwork, laboratory workflows, or grant/manuscript development.

• Experience with R, Git/GitHub, phylogenomic or population genomic workflows, GIS/spatial analysis, herbarium curation, voucher collection, plant identification, spectral reflectance, trait modeling, biodiversity informatics, and/or grant writing.

• Ability to obtain a valid driver license preferred if fieldwork travel is required.

Other Requirements:

• May travel as required.

• May work after normal business hours or on weekends as required by fieldwork, research deadlines, or specimen care.

• Work may occur in herbarium, laboratory, office, greenhouse, and field settings.

• Must follow applicable Texas A&M University safety, data management, and collections policies.

What You Need to Know

Salary: Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate’s qualifications.

Position Funding: This position is grant funded and availability is contingent on grant funding.

Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?

When you choose to work for Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.

In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit package including the following:

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance (https://www.tamus.edu/benefits/) with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums

• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays

• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month

• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas

• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

Applicant Instructions

Applications received by Texas A&M AgriLife must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

Please attach cover letter, cv/resume, references & other documents. Any questions, please contact Dr. Dawson White @ [email protected]

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.

As the largest comprehensive agriculture and life sciences program nationally, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies within the Texas A&M University System With over 5,000 employees, and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, the environment, and the economy of Texas and the nation through education, research, extension and service.If your goal is the pursuit of excellence and your vision is to make a difference in this world, we invite you to explore our opportunities to discover what a career at Texas A&M AgriLife has to offer you.

Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/agency/extension-home/)

• Texas A&M AgriLife Research

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/agency/college-home/)

• Texas A&M Forest Service

• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/agency/tvmdl-home/)

Texas A&M AgriLife collaborates with Prairie View A&M University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas A&M University-Kingsville and West Texas A&M University as well as with other public and private partners.

• Prospective employee benefits

• Retirement programs

• Commitment to inclusive excellence (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/about/diversity-inclusion/)

• Strategic plan