USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Turfgrass Agronomy and Genetics

How To Apply

Scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA-ARS-PWA-

February 27, 2026 3:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

A research opportunity is currently available with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), located in Maricopa, Arizona.

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency with a mission to find solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table.

The Water Management and Conservation Research Unit at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Maricopa, Arizona seeks a Post-Doctoral Fellow to investigate turfgrass agronomy, physiology, and genetics of different turfgrass species for improved drought, heat and salinity tolerance, and how turfgrass quality attributes contribute to ecosystem services.

The fellow will participate as a member of the turfgrass breeding and agronomy team. Under the guidance of a mentor, the fellow will help with planning and execution of growth chamber, greenhouse, and field experiments, conduct statistical analyses, interpret results, and publish research results in peer reviewed journals. The fellow will also be involved in the design of field trials, planting field trials, superimposition of stress factors, collection and analysis of visual and proximal-sensing data, and screening diverse turfgrass germplasm for adaptation, color and quality traits, and environmental stress tolerance that will lead to the development of improved cultivars.

The participant will gain experience in field and controlled environment research, including experimental design, breadth of data collection and analysis. They will also learn how to use and maintain equipment for measuring gas exchange, image and spectral data collection and analysis, and the effect of different turfgrass management options on visual quality, sustainability and ecosystem services. Knowledge on the biological mechanisms contributing to water and nitrogen use efficiency will be acquired.

Desalegn Serba (des.serba)

• Start date:
  
  flexible in 2026, depending on various factors.
• Length: initially one year, may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and contingent on the availability of funds.
• Level of participation: full time.
• Stipend: monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

U.S. citizen only.

This program is administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Participants are not employees of USDA, ARS, DOE or the program administrator and have no employment‑related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Please visit the program website. After reviewing, email ORISE.ARS.Pacific West and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing a master's or doctoral degree in one of the following relevant fields.

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree:
  Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree
• Discipline(s):
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences
  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Agriculture
  • Agonomy and Crop Science
  • Bioinformatics
  • Cellular and Molecular Biology
  • Computational Biology
  • Ecosystem Ecology
  • Genetics, including Genome Sciences
  • Horticulture
  • Plant Sciences

Janeen