USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Bioinformatics

How to Apply

To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.

Required documents:

• An application
• Transcript(s) – Unofficial transcript or copy of academic records printed by the applicant or by academic advisors from internal institution systems may be submitted.  for detailed information about acceptable transcripts.
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
• Two educational or professional recommendations

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA-ARS-PWA-

7/31/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Applications are reviewed on a rolling‑basis.

Fort Collins, Colorado – 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 ARS Postdoctoral Research Fellow will contribute to research in agricultural soil microbial ecology. The Fellow will collaborate with multiple ARS laboratories to develop novel indicators of soil communities, identify improved nutrient‑ and water‑use‑efficiency in agriculture, and analyze novel research aimed at identifying soil microbial contributions to soil health and crop yields.

• Develop an understanding of principles and advanced concepts in agricultural soil microbial ecology and their relevance to sustainable crop production.
• Collaborate with multiple ARS laboratories to develop and evaluate novel indicators of soil microbial communities.
• Apply domain‑ and functional‑gene analyses to characterize soil microbiomes and assess their roles in nutrient‑ and water‑use efficiency.
• Design and conduct field and laboratory studies investigating soil microbial contributions to soil health and crop yields.
• Analyze and interpret complex microbiome datasets to inform soil management and amendment strategies.
• Evaluate the impacts of fertilizers, organic amendments, and biological inputs on soil microbial community structure and function.
• Engage with multidisciplinary research teams focused on soil microbiome zone management and its application in agricultural systems.

Kate Reardon (catherine.reardon) and Dan Manter (daniel.manter). Contact the mentors with questions about the research.

Anticipated appointment start date: 2026 (flexible). Appointment length: initially one year, may be renewed upon recommendation of ARS and contingent on the availability of funds. Level of participation: full time. Participant stipend: monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Citizenship requirement: U.S. citizens only.

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields.

• Experience in soil science, bioinformatics, statistics, microbial ecology, and molecular biology, with experience with MinION sequence data and analysis of microbial functional gene pathways.

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree:
  Doctoral Degree
• Discipline(s):
  Environmental and Marine Sciences;
  Soil Science

Janeen