Postdoctoral Research Associate at Botanical Garden Bronx, NY

Position Summary

A postdoctoral research associate will develop tools to mobilize data in herbarium specimens for conservation action, as part of a project funded by the Bezos Earth Fund's AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge. The associate will report to Emily Sessa, Patricia K. Holmgren, Director of the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium baria are scientific collections of preserved plant specimens that are essential for biodiversity discovery and protecting threatened species.

This project uses advanced artificial intelligence to unlock data from images and labels, accelerating biodiversity discovery and informing conservation priorities.

• Design, develop, and implement a web-based AI tool that ingests digitized herbarium specimen images and outputs structured textual data to support IUCN Red List assessments.
• Develop, train, and evaluate computer vision and vision-language models for specimen interpretation, trait extraction, label parsing, and metadata synthesis.
• Translate model outputs into structured specimen-level data and higher-level summaries aligned with IUCN Red List criteria (e.g., distribution, population trends, threats, habitat information).
• Collaborate with AI and conservation partners to define requirements, validate outputs, and ensure biological relevance.
• Design workflows for large-scale image datasets, including preprocessing, quality control, and performance evaluation.
• Implement and maintain reproducible, well-documented codebases following open science best practices.
• Contribute to the deployment and maintenance of AI models and web services, ensuring usability, scalability, and accessibility for end users.
• Assess and document uncertainty, bias, and limitations of AI-generated outputs for conservation decision making.
• Prepare manuscripts, technical documentation, and project reports for peer-reviewed publication and stakeholder dissemination.
• Engage in a collaborative postdoctoral mentoring plan.
• Participate in NYBG Science activities and outreach related to the project.

• PhD in computer science, data science, bioinformatics, biodiversity informatics, ecology, botany, evolutionary biology or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience with computer vision and/or vision-language models, especially for image analysis or multimodal data.
• Proficiency in Python and ML frameworks such as PyTorch, Tensor Flow, or JAX, and experience working with large datasets.
• Experience developing research software or analytical pipelines, with clear, well-documented, reproducible code.
• Ability to translate technical outputs into usable scientific products such as structured datasets or decision-support tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with ability to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently while contributing productively to a collaborative environment.

Positions require standing, walking, sitting, and extensive computer use. Occasional travel to conferences or project meetings may be necessary. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

35-hour work week. Standard hours Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a one hour lunch. Weekend, evening, and holiday work may be required as needed. NYBG's hybrid work policy applies. Primary work location is the New York Botanical Garden.

$65,000

• 15 Vacation Days
• 13 Paid Holidays
• 12 Sick Days
• Health and Dental Insurance Coverage
• 401 K Pension Plan

EOE/BIPOC/F/Persons with disabilities/Veterans