Research Investigator

Job Title:

Research Investigator - Plant Pathology / Disease Phenotyping

Location:

Johnston, IA

Duration: 12 months

Shift: M-F 8:00am-4:00pm (some select weekend work required

The purpose of this requisition is to establish a contract pathology position to ensure continuity, execution speed, and data quality for several critical, time sensitive plant pathology research projects that directly support breeding, trait characterization, and product advancement priorities. Current pathology workloads have increased significantly due to expanded controlled-environment assays, field disease screening, isolate characterization, and phenotyping throughput demands, while existing permanent staff are fully allocated across project leadership, method development, compliance, and cross functional support responsibilities.

These activities are core to delivering reliable disease resistance data and meeting downstream decision milestones.

• Bachelor's or master's degree in plant Pathology, Plant Science, Agronomy, Biological Sciences, or a closely related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience in plant pathology research, disease phenotyping, or related agricultural sciences.

• Ability to independently lead and execute projects in both field and controlled environment (greenhouse/growth chamber) settings.
• Experience designing, coordinating, and delivering experimental work with attention to rigor, quality, and timelines.

• Strong problem solving skills with the ability to identify challenges, adapt methodologies, and develop practical solutions to deliver actionable results.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous or evolving research environments and making data driven decisions.

• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, drive work forward, and deliver high quality outputs with minimal supervision.
• Results oriented mindset with a focus on translating experimental work into clear outcomes and recommendations.

• Effective communicator able to work cross functionally with research, breeding, and technical teams.
• Capable of documenting methods, summarizing results, and clearly reporting progress and findings.

• Yes;
  
  Occasional

• Work boots