Job Title Postdoctoral Research Associate Agency Texas A&M Agrilife Research Department Horticultural Sciences Proposed Minimum Salary Commensurate Job Location College Station, Texas Job Type Staff Job Description Postdoctoral Research Associate Texas A&M Agrilife Research Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, Horticultural Sciences Required Education: Doctoral Degree in related field Preferred Experience: Experience in research related to ‘foods for health’ and secondary metabolites. Responsibilities: + Lead and coordinate lab activities, including scheduling, parts and supplies requisition, access, safety, and compliance. + Perform preventive maintenance on laboratory equipment to keep them in optimal working condition. + Conduct experiments related to identifying metabolites in plant and biological samples. + Develop and conduct research projects related to a systems-wide approach to increase consumption of vegetables, fruits, and ‘foods for health’. + Work on research teams and collaborate with other experts to achieve targeted goals of the melon integrated project. + Conduct field trials and travel within Texas as needed. + Participate in grant writing and collaborative research activities leading to peer-reviewed publications. + Work with plant disease samples and understand the relationship between diseases, pests of vegetables, fruits, and potential metabolites. + Conduct experiments related to the use of nanotechnology in agriculture in the field and greenhouse settings. + Maintain impeccable record-keeping, troubleshoot instruments, and conduct field experiments. + Develop and conduct research projects such as analysis and method development of bioactive compounds. + Investigate changes in bioactive compounds during postharvest handling processes. + Collaborate with industry partners and collect samples from various locations in Texas. + Train undergraduates, graduate students, and visiting scientists. + Develop and conduct hands-on training and short courses as needed. + Write grant proposals, manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals, and reports. + Perform duties assigned by the Director of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center. + Other duties as required. Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: + Excellent oral and written communication skills. + Ability to design experiments independently with limited assistance. + Competency with laboratory work and use of analytical instrumentation. + Proven track record of peer-reviewed publications and scholarly work in related areas. + Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with firm deadlines. + Ability to maintain and troubleshoot analytical instrumentation. + Ability to write and follow standard operating procedures. + Ability to work effectively in a team environment. + Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others. + Ability to prepare safety and equipment use manuals and analytical methods as needed. + Ability to communicate constructively with other scientists and collaborators. + Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook, etc.). + Ability to work evening and/or weekend hours as needed. + Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: + Ability to conduct independent and collaborative research on identifying, characterizing, and functionally analyzing diverse metabolites in fruits and vegetables. + Ability to investigate the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the biosynthetic pathways of metabolites in different fruit and vegetable species. + Ability to link abiotic and biotic stress with secondary metabolites to develop climate-resilient vegetables, specifically tomatoes. + Knowledge in linking bioactives, whole food, and microbiota. + Ability to interpret analytical data from LC/MS, GC-MS, Raman spectroscopy, and NMR instrumentation. + Knowledge of identification, characterization, quantitation, and metabolic profiling of bioactive natural products in plants. + Proficiency in advanced analytical techniques for material characterization. + High-quality research ability as evidenced by a strong publication record. + Knowledge of sustainable food production and plant-based food trends. + Familiarity with computational modeling of structure-function relationship + Experience in identifying metabolites in biological samples. + Sufficient knowledge in statistical analysis tools (e.g., SAS, R, XLstat, Multivariate analysis). + Manage lab group, supplies, and inventory. + Perform assay development for new compounds and ingredients. + Participate in analyzing and disseminating data results, preparing manuscripts, reports, scientific papers/presentations, and grant proposals. + Provide advice and assistance to other lab members and mentor graduate and undergraduate students 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/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer.