Research Lead Technician

Research Lead Technician

The successful candidate for this position will conduct and support research on the biology, ecology, and management of weedy plants in agricultural production systems. Duties will include: establishing field, lab/growth chamber, and greenhouse research trials, conducting data collection in trials using traditional plant sampling methods and modern instrumentation and digital technologies, overseeing sample processing and data entry, installing and downloading data from sensors, assisting with data management and analysis, assisting with grant writing and funding opportunities, assisting with writing and presenting research results in scholarly journals and professional meetings.

Planned trials will focus on understanding weed species and community response to integrated and precision weed management practices under variable environmental conditions. Cropping systems of interest span a wide range of major agronomic crops, emerging and alternative row crops, specialty crops, and adjacent natural areas. The successful candidate will be involved in training of undergraduate and graduate students in field and lab procedures and overseeing daily laboratory, greenhouse, and field activities including managing and maintaining equipment and supplies.

The candidate will also assist in the development of extension materials for publication as appropriate. The candidate is expected to contribute to grant ideation efforts, protocol development and treatment design to test research hypotheses.

50% basic and applied weed science research and extension activities

50% laboratory administration and personnel management.

MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience required; 5 years of relevant experience required with High School diploma or GED, 3 years of relevant experience required with associate's degree, or 1 years of relevant experience required with bachelor's degree.

Required experience:

Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, highly collaborative work environment. Experience conducting field and/or greenhouse research projects. Excellent organizational and quantitative skills. Demonstrated ability in oral and written science communication.

Desired education and experience: BS + 3 years' experience conducting research, or an MS, with combined education/experience in one or more of the following fields:
Weed Science, Agronomy, Horticulture, Plant Ecology, Agricultural Engineering, Environmental Science.

Grant proposal development and post-award management. Supervision and mentoring graduate and/or undergraduate students in a research environment. Experience with R or Python programming languages for management and analysis of a variety of data types and sizes, potentially to include multivariate and spatial statistics, image analysis, and machine learning.

This job profile is a Research Technician 4 (T4 level) on the career roadmap.

The offer for this position will fall within the positions pay range based on internal equity, unit's available budget, and the candidate's qualifications

Kottman Hall (0340)

Regular

40

Varying Shifts

Final candidates are subject to successful completion of a background check. A drug screen or physical may be required during the post offer process.

The university is an equal opportunity employer, including veterans and disability.