Plant Pathology Data Scientist

The Department of Plant Pathology seeks a M.S. level Data Scientist to advance research in plant disease epidemiology, integrated disease management, disease forecasting, and agricultural economic modeling. This position will collaborate on faculty-led projects while leading the development of models, deployment to stakeholders via web interfaces, and evaluation and iteration of the tools.

Research & Analysis:

• Design and implement data-driven models for plant disease epidemiology and forecasting.
• Design and implement machine-learning techniques to address applied decision support

Collaboration:

• Work closely with faculty, graduate students, and interdisciplinary teams to integrate data science into experimental research.
• Collaborate with software developers and extension specialists to translate models into practical tools for growers and stakeholders

Scholarly Output:

• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals.
• Contribute to competitive grant proposals.

Infrastructure Development:

• Develop reproducible workflows and data pipelines for large-scale agricultural datasets.
• Maintain documentation and ensure compliance with data management best practices.

Ongoing/Renewable

Normal hours are 7:45am - 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. Occasional nights and weekends may be required for this position.

This position is eligible for partial remote work. Remote work requires an approved remote work agreement (RWA) agreement. An RWA requires successful candidates to possess their own high-speed internet and phone to perform the work on a university provided computer. Per University policy, transportation between home and assigned work location is not payable/reimbursable and will be at the expense of the employee.

• Documents approaches to address research questions and contributes to the establishment of reproducible research methodologies and analysis workflows
• Independently identifies and implements appropriate data science techniques to find data patterns and answer research questions chosen by the lead researcher including data visualization, statistical analysis, machine learning, and data mining
• Organizes and automates project steps for data preparation and analysis
• Composes and assembles reproducible workflows and reports to clearly articulate patterns to researchers and/or administrators
• Prepares data sets for analysis including cleaning/quality assurance, transformations, restructuring, and integration of multiple data sources

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Department of Plant Pathology.

The Department of
Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison was founded in 1910 to meet the needs of the growers and help combat crop failures. This important relationship between faculty and growers' needs has continued to be a major strength in our Department and in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Current members of the Department are dedicated to advancing knowledge of plant-microbe interactions while supporting food production and environmental security by addressing plant disease control, grower and consumer needs, and environmental sustainability.

Master's Degree required;
Plant Pathology, Agronomy, Applied Data Scientist, or a closely related field preferred

Ph.D. preferred

• Demonstrated expertise in statistical modeling and machine learning
• Experience with agricultural data management such as cleaning and analyzing large real-world agricultural datasets and developing and communicating results in presentations and publications
• Demonstrated ability to communicate research findings through publications or technical reports
• Proficiency in programming languages (Python, R) and data visualization

• Prior involvement in interdisciplinary research teams such as National Predictive Modeling Tool initiative or other similar teams
• Experience in deploying models for plant disease forecasting
• Experience in agricultural economic modeling

The anticipated salary range for this position is $75,000 - $90,000 However, final salary will depend on experience and qualifications. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Additional benefits information can be found at: https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)./

Click on the "Apply Online" button to start the application process. You will be prompted to upload the following documents/application materials:

Resume (required) - Detail your educational and professional background

Cover letter (required) - Refer to your related work experience

It is important that your cover letter and resume reflect your experience for this position related to the Qualifications section. Your application materials will be used during our evaluation to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job. The most qualified…