Senior Climate & Soil Health Scientist

Job Details Level: Senior

Job Location:

AFT Headquarters - WASHINGTON, DC 20006 Position Type:
Full Time Salary Range: $90,000.00 - $ Salary Job purpose

Reporting to the National Climate and Soil Health Director, the Senior Climate and Soil Health Scientist supports AFT’s Climate and Soil Health Program by advancing connectivity across research, science translation, partnerships, and implementation strategies that accelerate adoption of resilient soil health management systems. This includes a core focus on biochar integration, as well as other climate-beneficial approaches. The position supports AFT’s efforts to catalyze a new conventional agriculture: empowering farmers and ranchers across the nation’s diverse systems to achieve on‑farm and societal benefits from systems that are soil health promoting, biodiverse, climate‑neutral or better, resilient, equitable, and environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.

As an integral member of the Climate and Soil Health Program, the Senior Climate and Soil Health Scientist leads research, technical program development, science translation, partnership building, training, fundraising, and implementation efforts that bridge research and practice. The position includes research responsibilities but is fundamentally a research‑to‑practice role focused on using science to foster adoption of resilient soil health management systems.

The position helps identify and address barriers to adoption and persistence, develops tools and resources that support decision‑making, and advances emerging opportunities in biochar, PFAS, climate resilience, and related soil health innovation. The position requires a combination of scientific leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, excellent communication, and ability to collaborate across disciplines, teams, and diverse stakeholders.

• Research:
  Lead applied research, literature review, technical review, data analysis, modeling, life cycle analysis, and impact‑oriented programmatic design and implementation, and provide technical leadership for fundraising efforts relating to biochar and soil health. Collaborate across the team to compile, analyze, and publish project data and results.
• Science Translation & Technical Resources:
  Lead and collaborate on science translation activities that integrate research findings, producer innovations, and demonstration results into transformative technical resources: decision support tools, guides, factsheets, manuals, peer‑reviewed publications, curricula, trainings and educational resources that support successful adoption.
• Networks & Adoption:
  Contribute to development and continuous improvement of producer, advisor, mentor, and peer‑learning network functioning by integrating scientific findings and AFT’s social, economic, and environmental program evaluation results to strengthen future network outcomes.
• Systems:
  Address adoption needs across soil health practices in annual and perennial, high disturbance, and other systems across varied agroecological zones, through AFT’s on‑farm trials network, technical resources, and training programs.
• Training:
  Contribute scientific leadership and subject‑matter expertise to Advanced Soil Health Training, Growing with Biochar Training, peer learning networks, mentor programs, livestock and grazing training, and other capacity‑building efforts designed to multiply adoption.
• Evaluation:
  Collaborate on the design and implementation of impact measurement, evaluation, and learning systems that assess adoption, persistence, environmental, economic, and network outcomes.
• Emerging opportunities:
  Provide scientific leadership for…