Research Assistant Professor - Career

Washington State University•Pullman, WA

19d•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Entomology at Washington State University invites applications for a full-time, career-track faculty position specializing in economic entomology and ecological pest management. Based on the Pullman campus, the position will use digital agriculture, predictive modeling, and research on resilience to weather variability to develop practical tools that help Washington growers manage insect pests, pathogens, and diseases across specialty-crop systems. This is a 12-month, fixed-term appointment for one year, with the possibility of renewal contingent on satisfactory performance and continued grant and contract funding. The anticipated start date is during the Spring 2027 semester, subject to departmental needs and hiring timelines. The anticipated workload is 100% research. The successful candidate will conduct research on pest population dynamics, phenology, integrated pest management, and the effects of weather and climate variability on agricultural systems. They will combine field-monitoring, environmental, and crop data with digital agriculture, artificial intelligence, and predictive modeling to develop and validate decision-support tools for growers. Research will span cropping systems such as potato, tree fruit, small fruits, grains, hops, alfalfa, and vegetable seed crops. The role also includes publishing and presenting findings, collaborating with growers and other stakeholders and research teams, contributing to proposals and project reporting, and mentoring students or research personnel as appropriate.

Requirements

Earned Ph.D. in a life-science discipline by the position start date.
Demonstrated skills and expertise in phenology modeling, integrated pest management, insect biology, pesticide chemistry and application, digital agriculture, artificial intelligence, and climate-change research.
Demonstrated expertise working across multiple agricultural cropping systems, including but not limited to potato, tree fruit, small fruits, grains, hops, alfalfa, and vegetable seed crops.
Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams and agricultural stakeholders.
Demonstrated written and oral communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Research experience in economic entomology, ecological pest management, or a closely related field.
Experience integrating field-monitoring, environmental, weather, climate, and crop data to develop or validate predictive pest-management models.
Experience developing practical digital decision-support tools or recommendations for agricultural producers.
Experience with statistical analysis, geographic information systems, remote sensing, sensor data, or programming tools such as R or Python.
Knowledge of specialty-crop production systems important to Washington State or the Pacific Northwest.
Record of peer-reviewed publications appropriate to the candidate’s career level.
Experience preparing competitive grant or contract proposals and supporting externally funded research projects.
Experience collaborating with growers, commodity organizations, government agencies, Extension professionals, and interdisciplinary research teams.
Experience communicating research findings to technical and nontechnical audiences through publications, presentations, workshops, reports, or digital platforms.
Experience mentoring or supervising students, postdoctoral researchers, or other research personnel.

Responsibilities

Design and conduct research on pest population dynamics, phenology, integrated pest management, and the effects of weather and climate variability on agricultural systems.
Integrate field-monitoring, environmental, and crop data with digital agriculture, artificial intelligence, and predictive modeling to develop and validate practical decision-support tools for growers.
Conduct research across cropping systems including potato, tree fruit, small fruits, grains, hops, alfalfa, and vegetable seed crops.
Publish research findings in peer-reviewed outlets and present results to scientific and stakeholder audiences.
Collaborate with growers, commodity groups, Extension professionals, agencies, and interdisciplinary research teams.
Contribute to grant and contract proposals and project reporting.
Mentor students or research personnel as appropriate.