Job Details

Perennial Agriculture Project Postdoctoral Researcher

Who We Are + What We Do

The Land Institute co-leads the global movement for perennial, diverse, regenerative grain agriculture at a scale that matches the enormity of the intertwined climate, water, and food security crises. Anindependent 501c3 non-profit founded in 1976, the organization seeks to reconcile the human economy with nature's economy, starting with food. The transdisciplinary team of scientists, together with global partners, are developing new perennial grain crops, like Kernza©, and diverse cropping systems that function within nature's limits while researching the social transformation required for a just, perennial human future.

How You'd Fit In + Stand Out

As a Postdoc Researcher, you will support and enact the daily operations of your program to support and advance efforts to breed for disease resistance, identify, and manage diseases in perennial grain crops. You will be someone who enjoys data processing, analysis, and writing. Your daily tasks will include things such as curating and analyzing project data, and writing manuscripts to help the team disseminate results to the scientific community. You are a colleague who brings efficiency, rigor, and communication to the work as it is shared. You will manage various tasks, projects, and timelines simultaneously under the direction of your program lead and use knowledge and skills in data analysis and writing to further the program's research goals both independently and collaboratively.

Primary Responsibilities + Expectations

• Develop and maintain detailed & organized data analysis scripts and processes, with easily accessible/understandable project working files and final results in shared folders, spreadsheets, and databases.
• Perform statistical analysis of project results
• Generate publication-quality tables and figures
• Write and submit draft publications using previous and current program data and documents
• Coordinate with the program lead to maintain records of activities related to programmatic and organizational goals
• Meet regularly with the program lead to prioritize projects and ensure progress on manuscript analysis and writing

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Support, train, and assist in mentoring program research assistants, technicians, research residents, and graduate students

Additional Opportunities

• Co-author of scientific research publications
• Attend and present at conferences
• Periodically participating in community and scientific outreach or internal educational initiatives

Who you are

• PhD in plant pathology, plant breeding, or genetics
• Excellent writing, communication, organization, and collaboration skills
• Significant experience with statistical analyses and programming languages such as R; strong interest and ability to learn new software and packages
• Experience leading the submission and completion of peer-reviewed published scientific journal articles
• Desire to work independently, with minimum supervision.
• US citizen, legal resident, or have a current work visa for a minimum of 2 years
• Desire to join collaborations with scientists or other agricultural stakeholders
• Ability to work well with others, including people from different cultures, political parties, socioeconomic classes, etc.

Organizational Competencies

• Mission Driven: You are passionate about the mission of The Land Institute and are interested in aligning your skills and personal genius to benefit this work.
• Courageous: You do not retreat or shy away from hard things. You face challenges and conflict with professionalism, grace, and resolve.
• A Boundary Spanner: You bring an interdisciplinary skill set and you model self-awareness in your own preferences. You are motivated to always be learning and you adapt to span boundaries with people across a range of different perspectives.
• Inspiring and Inspired: You are inspired by the people around you, finding and harnessing the genius in your colleagues to meet the organizational objectives, and you are inspiring to others through example and your own genius applied.
• Growth Mindset: You have the vulnerability to know what you don't know, admit your flaws, and learn from others to grow and develop yourself and the organization.
• A Creative Collaborator: You believe in the power of a diverse collective to generate ideas and solutions. You excel at strategic thinking, being open to new perspectives, and managing innovation. You bring a playful, positive approach to the work and like meeting new people and deepening connections with those you already know.
• Excited by change: You embrace nascent and evolving situations and enjoy engaging new people, ideas, and possibilities. You think about change holistically: internal, external, organizational, and cultural. You like iterating systems, building efficiency, and operationalizing design. You are willing to jump in and contribute to new projects as needed.

Qualifications That Could Help You Succeed

• Efficiency in writing and data analysis
• Experience in data analysis and writing in the fields of plant pathology or agronomy
• Experience summarizing and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data
• Strong knowledge and experience in statistical analysis

Hours

Generally available to work forty hours per week, including in-person and digital meetings, primarily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Central Time on weekdays when most of our staff and collaborators are working. Some evening and weekend working hours will be needed. We are flexible for caregivers who might need to provide rides or support, attend appointments, or be available for caregiving.

Location + Travel

This role may be based remotely and will include occasional travel for meetings. Primary travel will happen in the United States. Travel may include up to 3 trips a year, each less than one week.

Environmental + Working Conditions

Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer and phone.

Travel in varying conditions

Compensation + Benefits

The Land Institute offers an excellent benefits package and a competitive salary commensurate with experience.

The salary for this position is $57,000 annually.
• Remote-friendly work environment
• Paid parental leave
• Competitive, equitable compensation
• 403(b) Retirement
• 403(b) Employer contributions
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Employer-Provided Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Life Insurance
• Accidental Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid holidays
• Generous paid time off
• Complete laptop workstation and set up for remote work

To Apply

To be considered for this position click apply below and submit a resume/CV and cover letter. Please list your first available start date in the cover letter. Review of applications will begin in December 2025. Position will remain open until filled.

The Land Institute is an equal opportunity employer and embraces the opportunity to provide employment to qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. We are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Pay Range: $57,000 per year