Postdoctoral Research Associate

Job Title

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Agency

Texas A&M Agrilife Research

Department

Horticultural Sciences

Proposed Minimum Salary

$4,166.67 monthly

Job Location

College Station, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

About Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
• Texas A&M AgriLife Research
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University
• Texas A&M Forest Service
• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

As the nation’s largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.

Click here to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!

Job Responsibilities:

5% Lead and coordinate lab activities, including scheduling, supply requisition, safety, and compliance

25% Conduct research on bioactive compounds from food sources, including metabolite identification, microbiome and nanoencapsulation systems for microbiological safety.

5% Investigate the genetic, biochemical, and environmental factors influencing bioactive compounds and volatiles in fruits and vegetables.

5% Study plant disease samples to understand relationships between diseases, pests, and potential metabolites.

10% Maintain laboratory certification through record-keeping and quality assurance and collaborate with research teams, industry partners, and other

experts, including participation in the tomato integrated project. Conduct field trials and collect samples across Texas as needed.

15% Develop and optimize analytical methods for bioactive compounds and assess their changes in different vegetables and fruits.

5% Train and mentor undergraduate and graduate students, as well as visiting scientists.

5% Participate in grant writing, manuscript preparation, and dissemination of research through peer-reviewed publications.

5% Troubleshoot and maintain analytical instrumentation.

20% Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center.

Required Education:

Doctorate degree.

Preferred experience:

Experience in research related to secondary metabolites of fruits and vegetables, gut microbiome, soil microbiome, and specifically tomato in relation to water use efficiency and heat tolerance.

Preferred licenses:

Driver's license

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong oral and written communication skills.

• Ability to independently design and execute experiments.

• Expertise in laboratory research and analytical instrumentation.

• Experience in identifying, characterizing, and functionally analyzing volatile and bioactive compounds.

• Understanding of the link between abiotic/biotic stressors and secondary metabolite production, particularly in climate-resilient crops like tomatoes.

• Proven record of peer-reviewed publications and research productivity.

• Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong teamwork and collaboration skills.

• Competency in statistical analysis tools (e.g., SAS, R, XLstat, Multivariate analysis).

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook).

• Availability to work evenings and weekends as needed.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Experience with LC-MS, GC-MS, Raman spectroscopy, and NMR for compound identification and metabolic profiling.

• Familiarity with statistical modeling and computational approaches for bioactive compound analysis.

• Plant microbiome interactions; host-associated and endophytic communities

• Stress biology; soil and rhizosphere microbiology

• Functional microbiology

• Next-generation sequencing, metagenomics, RNA-seq and transcriptomics analysis

• Multi-omics integration

• Bioinformatics and data analysis using R and Python

• AI/ML-assisted biological data analysis.

• Expertise in assay development for new compounds and ingredients.

• Ability to manage laboratory personnel, inventory, and research projects.

• Strong background in preparing safety manuals, analytical methods, and standard operating procedures.

• Experience in disseminating research findings through reports, presentations, and grant proposals.

• Mentorship experience with students and lab members.

Additional requirements:

The candidate needs to be able to conduct studies independently by his/her ability to think and move the research towards innovation.

Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?

When you choose to work for Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.

In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit package including the following:

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums 
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays  
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas  
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

Applicant Instructions

Applications received by Texas A&M AgriLife must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.