MSc​/PhD position

MSc/PhD position - Research Affiliate Program Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Science and Technology Branch Closing date:
February 13, 2026 - 23:59, Pacific Time

Employment tenure
The projected start date is September 1, 2026 with an end date of March 30, 2029 (or depending on the candidate's availability or needs) with the possibility of part-time extension. It is expected that the student will work 20 hours per week.

Salary
$25.17 to $38.38 per hour-Varies as per the level of education and experience.

Who can apply
Persons residing in Canada, and Canadian citizens and Permanent residents abroad.

Duties
The student will conduct research evaluating the influence of temperature regimes and seasonal dynamics on plant developmental physiology and phenology. This study requires assessing crop performance across diverse experimental settings, including field conditions with and without modified microclimates, and laboratory environments to understand environmental impacts on vegetative and reproductive development in blueberries. A major component of this position involves the optimization and application of UAV-based remote sensing technologies.

The student will develop high-throughput workflows to rapidly assess physiological status and morphological traits across large sample sets. Key duties include data acquisition, statistical modeling, image analysis, and the synthesis of findings for an MSc/PhD thesis and peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, the student will assist in supervising undergraduate research assistants and managing laboratory operations.

Work environment
The majority of field research activities will be conducted at the Agri-Food Canada’s Agassiz Research and Development Centre in Agassiz, BC, a research facility with nearly 20 research teams representing diverse fields of agriculture. All coursework will be completed at Simon Fraser University, a major public university located in Greater Vancouver. The chosen candidate will work closely with researchers specializing in plant physiology, and remote sensing.

Positions to be filled
1

Important messages
Candidates will be required to pay for their own travel related to assessment and successful candidates will be responsible for obtaining their own living accommodations. Successful completion of both a RAP work assignment and your educational program may lead to a temporary or permanent federal public service position for which you meet the merit criteria and conditions of employment.

Reliability Status security clearance - Each student hired through the Research Affiliate Program (RAP) must meet the security requirements of the position as a condition of employment and, therefore will be asked by the hiring organization to complete security-relevant documents. Willingness and ability to work in diverse environments, including outdoor field sites (handling drones and collecting plant phenological and physiological data) and controlled laboratory settings

Your application must clearly explain how you meet the following

Education:
Candidate must be enrolled now, or will be enrolled by the date of the appointment, in a master's or doctorate program at a recognized postsecondary institution with a specialization in plant physiology and remote sensing.

Note:

Must be currently recognized as having full-time student status in the academic institution in which you are presently enrolled, pending approval of acceptance or in the process of submitting your application. Proof of enrollment will be required prior to start date and the student must be returning to full-time studies for your next academic term.

Knowledge:
Knowledge of plant physiology, specifically regarding abiotic stress responses (e.g., drought, heat)
Knowledge of remote sensing principles (multispectral/hyperspectral imaging), acquisition of multi-type images, and image processing
Knowledge of statistical methods and experimental design
Knowledge in programming languages for data analysis (e.g., R, Python) and geospatial software (e.g., QGIS, ArcGIS, ENVI)

Competencies:
Interactive Communication
Initiative
Problem Solving
Planning and Organizing

Abilities:
Ability to…