Agricultural Technician

Virginia Tech•Blacksburg, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is for wage personnel at the Plant Pathology Lab, located at 513 Latham Hall on the main Virginia Tech campus. The role involves joining a dynamic fruit tree pathology research team as an Agricultural Technician. This critical position supports high-end research in plant pathology through hands-on work in greenhouse, field, and laboratory settings. Key areas of focus include plant disease diagnostics, plant pathogen characterization, and plant disease management, primarily within a greenhouse environment. The position is structured as wage employment and will not exceed 1,500 hours within the payment year.

Requirements

Direct or related experience in running and organizing various laboratory and greenhouse tasks for manipulating microorganisms and plant management, related to plant sciences, or biology as a wage personnel or similar capacity
Computer literacy, particularly with MS Word, Excel, email, and internet applications
Valid driver's license and access to personal transportation
Ability to drive state vehicles

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in plant sciences, biology, horticulture, microbiology or related field
Practical experience in greenhouse and laboratory work
Experience in data management and supervision

Responsibilities

Conduct work in the laboratory
Manage, oversee, and collect data in greenhouse research setting
Collect plant disease samples in the field
Engage in field and greenhouse work, including traveling to apple orchards
Collect disease samples
Order trees, plant, fertilize and irrigate trees
Flag treatments
Apply pesticide treatments in greenhouse
Count diseased and healthy leaves, shoots, flowers and fruit
Measure disease severity
Conduct sample collection and processing
Create plant pathogen inoculum and deploy it in the greenhouse
Analyze infected plant organs
Collect raw data for each disease
Create document findings in Excel and Word files
Collect and prepare plant tissues for plant pathogen identification or detection analyses
Conduct plant pathogen isolation and culturing
Maintain plant pathogen collection
Run fungicide efficacy assays in the lab
Perform sample grinding with Geno grinder
Conduct analysis with microtome, microscope and camera
Assist in a broad range of greenhouse and lab experiments
Ensure accurate and efficient data management
Maintain comprehensive records of all experimental activities in lab notebook (date, greenhouse bay, cultivar/s), online and in print
Assist and collaborate with graduate students, postdocs and other lab personnel on their research tasks