Assistant/Associate Professor - Decision Intelligence Specialist

University of Florida•Hillsborough, FL

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida is seeking a 9-month tenure-accruing Assistant/Associate Professor specializing in Decision Intelligence for the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC). This position will be 70% research and 30% extension, focusing on the advancement of applied artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture, particularly for specialty crop production. The role involves developing and applying next-generation decision intelligence methodologies to transform agricultural data into actionable management recommendations. The successful candidate will establish an internationally recognized research program in prescriptive AI for agriculture, integrating advanced AI techniques to enable autonomous and human-centered decision-making. This position is part of a cohort of new hires for the GCREC Agricultural AI Institute, aiming to enhance automation and efficiency in specialty crop production. The specialist will also contribute to technology transfer and extension activities, translating research into practical tools for producers and industry stakeholders, and training others on decision support technologies.

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.

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 data.
Design agentic AI systems for planning, reasoning, and coordinating agricultural operations.
Create prescriptive decision support systems for farm resource allocation (labor, equipment, water, fertilizer, crop protection).
Engage in technology transfer, translating advances into practical tools and workflows for adoption by producers and industry.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to develop user-centered decision support systems.
Contribute to extension activities by training extension specialists and industry representatives on decision support technologies and their integration into production systems.
Actively seek contract and grant funding to support the research program.
Participate in undergraduate and graduate education by chairing and serving on graduate committees, supervising student research, and publishing research results with students.
Embrace all three missions of Research, Extension, and Teaching of the Land-grant university system.
Promote research activity and leadership in professional societies.
Engage in sustained publication activity in top scientific journals.
Collaborate with other faculty and research partners.