Assistant/Associate Professor - Decision Intelligence Specialist

University of Florida•Hillsborough, FL

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is seeking an Assistant/Associate Professor - Decision Intelligence Specialist for a 9-month tenure-accruing position. This role will be 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) and 30% extension (Florida Cooperative Extension Service), based at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC). The position is part of a new cohort for the GCREC Agricultural AI Institute, focusing on applied artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture, particularly automation and efficiency in specialty crop production. The successful candidate will establish an internationally recognized research program in prescriptive AI for agriculture, integrating reinforcement learning, causal inference, optimization, and agentic AI systems. Responsibilities include conducting innovative research, developing AI frameworks for farm management, advancing causal inference methods, designing agentic AI systems, and creating prescriptive decision support systems for farm resource allocation. The specialist will also be involved in technology transfer, translating research into practical tools for producers and industry, and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. Extension activities will involve training specialists and industry representatives on decision support technologies. The role offers an interdisciplinary environment with industry partners and faculty from various agricultural and biological sciences. Candidates are expected to embrace the research, extension, and teaching missions of a Land-grant university, establish a strong, externally funded research program, and actively participate in undergraduate and graduate education.

Requirements

A doctorate (foreign equivalent acceptable) in Engineering, Computer Science, Horticultural Sciences or a closely related discipline.
Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Proven ability to participate in collaborative efforts.
Proven ability to procure external funding.
Experience with artificial intelligence, agentic AI, and/or experience with AI deployment in agricultural systems is necessary.
Must be supportive of the mission of the University Land-Grant system.
Must have a commitment to UF core values.

Nice To Haves

Applied, interdisciplinary scientist with computer science experience.
Experience with horticultural crops.
Experience with design and deployment of software solutions.
Experience with mobile applications for agriculture.
Familiarity with Python, C++, PyTorch/TensorFlow, agent-based modeling and simulation tools, edge AI platforms, and other relevant software is an advantage.

Responsibilities

Conduct innovative research in decision-focused AI for agriculture.
Develop reinforcement learning frameworks for adaptive farm management.
Advance causal inference methods to improve decision making from observational and experimental data.
Design agentic AI systems capable of planning, reasoning, and coordinating agricultural operations.
Create prescriptive decision support systems for farm resource allocation (labor, equipment, water, fertilizer, crop protection inputs).
Play a key role in technology transfer, translating advances in decision intelligence into practical tools and workflows for adoption by producers, industry, and other stakeholders.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to develop user-centered decision support systems.
Contribute to extension activities by training extension specialists and industry representatives on the use of decision support technologies and their integration into current production systems.
Establish a strong, externally funded, research program.
Promote research activity and leadership in professional societies.
Engage in sustained publication activity in top scientific journals.
Collaborate with other faculty and research partners.
Participate actively in undergraduate and graduate education by chairing and serving on graduate committees, supervising thesis, dissertation, and undergraduate research, and publishing research results with students.
Participate in professional development activities related to teaching and advising.
May teach courses and seminars.