Job Title

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Agency

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Department

Biological & Agricultural Engineering

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

College Station, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

Responsibilities:

1. Coordinate project activities with team members to maximize the knowledge gained from related efforts.

2. Conduct on-farm and packing shed experimental procedures and interact with cooperating growers during those procedures.

3. Plan, implement, and evaluate experimental devices and protocols to determine the suitability of onion varieties to withstand the impacts and handling resulting from mechanical harvesting and packing machines.

4. Plan, implement, and evaluate devices and protocols to measure the potentially damaging impacts and forces that occur in commercially available onion harvesting machines.

5. Identify the actions and machine locations that result in the greatest potential damage to onion bulbs and identify potential design modifications to minimize those impacts and forces.

6. Characterize the measured impacts and forces from multiple harvest and packing machines and develop descriptions of those forces that can inform onion breeders about the phenotypic traits that they should consider when selecting germplasm candidates for mechanical harvesting.

7. Design, fabricate, and test a mechanical harvest suitability instrument that can be used by onion breeders to evaluate harvest suitability as a phenotypic trait.

8. Conduct statistical analyses on the machine and variety data, develop conclusions, and communicate those results in written reports and oral presentations to the project team, cooperating manufacturers, industry stakeholder groups and professional conferences.

9. Supervise undergraduate workers assisting with the project activities.

Other duties as required.

Required Education and Experience:

Required: Ph.D. in Biological, Agricultural, Biosystems, or related engineering discipline

Preferred Education and Experience:

Research experience in design and evaluation of machine systems. Experience in the use of statistical packages for analysis of large datasets, experience with CAD software. Experience with R for statistical analysis and Solidworks for CAD.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Ability to conduct research in agricultural fields, including the ability to walk on uneven ground, lift weights of up to 50 pounds, and work in ambient conditions of up to 100 degrees F.

Good communication and computer skills.

Ability to multi task and work cooperatively with others.

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/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer.