Postdoctoral Researcher, Orchid Conservation

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Glencoe, IL, US

2 days ago Requisition

Salary Range: $70,000.00 To $70,000.00 Annually

Title
:
Postdoctoral Researcher, Orchid Conservation
Exemption Status: Exempt
Department: Conservation Science / Ex situ collections
Reports to: Director of Conservation
Year-Round Full-time (
three-year position based on grant funding
)
Supervises: Graduate students, research assistants, and volunteers (as needed)

Year-Round Full-time employees of the Chicago Botanic Garden are eligible for the following Benefits:

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, our compensation philosophy is rooted in our core values:
Growth, Understanding, Resilience, and Trust through Transparency. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and appreciated.

Our objective is to create compensation and growth opportunities for our employees that are highly competitive, internally equitable and transparent. The foundation of our efforts is a straightforward approach that can be easily communicated by managers with defined pay ranges for all positions. When posting job openings, we share the minimum salary up to the budgeted amount.

The starting salary for new staff members is determined by considering the salary range assigned to the position and by reviewing the candidate’s qualifications for the job as compared with job responsibilities. Prior work experience should be considered in determining the salary offer, provided that it is relevant to the job. Additional factors such as secondary language proficiency or advanced degrees that enhance performance may also be considered.

A candidate’s salary may exceed the minimum amount based on factors such as experience, additional skills (e.g., secondary language proficiency), or pertinent degrees that enhance the individual’s contribution to the role but are not required. Opportunities for increased compensation are provided through referral bonuses, shift differentials, Thank You Pay, promotions, and periodic pay increases based on the Garden's overall performance and financial budgets.

Our total compensation and benefits package is people centric. We prioritize employee wellness across three pillars: physical, mental, and financial. Our goal is to offer innovative total rewards that support continuous professional growth, personal development, and provide the flexibility needed to balance personal and professional commitments.

The postdoctoral researcher will serve as the project's data and genetics lead, compiling, validating, and standardizing collection records (provenance, taxonomy, propagation history, health status) across partner institutions, and applying modern genomic tools to quantify diversity, verify identity, detect hybridization, and reconstruct pedigrees. The project's initial taxonomic focus is on slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum, Cypripedium, and allied taxa) and the American ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii), with at least four U.S.

-native species and four to five Paphiopedilumspecies targeted for full implementation.

Working alongside the Pollen Bank Manager and Conservation Horticulturist, and in coordination with zoo-conservation partners (including Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Species Conservation Toolkit Initiative), the researcher will help translate integrated genetic, demographic, and horticultural data into globally coordinated Species Management Plans—modeled on the Species Survival Plans used in the zoo community—that guide breeding, plant movement, and long‑term stewardship across institutions.

The role offers substantial opportunity to shape research questions and analytical approaches while contributing to a national leadership effort in pedigree‑based conservation management. The postdoctoral researcher will collaborate with scientists in genetics, horticulture, and collections management and will contribute to publications, protocols, training materials, and future grant proposals.

In this…