UC Cooperative Extension Specialist - Food Safety, Drones, and Spectral Analysis

Application Window

Open date: December 15, 2025
Next review date: Tuesday, Feb 10, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Wednesday, Apr 29, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

The University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), in collaboration with the University of California, Santa Cruz, invites applications for a UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Specialist at the Assistant rank
.

Food safety is a major priority for California agriculture, especially in the fresh produce industry. This position will address evolving food safety challenges in specialty crop production, bringing scientific and technical expertise to the field, with a focus on the intersection between food safety and organic/regenerative farming practices. The Specialist will examine the potential of agricultural technologies, such as drones, spectral analysis, and sensors, to help California growers ensure the safety of their harvest while using organic and regenerative practices.

UCCE Specialists develop and conduct research and educational programs aimed at appropriate clientele groups in communities outside of UC campuses. UCCE Specialists have programs focused on mission-oriented research or creative work that support the university s efforts to extend knowledge, including outreach and community engagement. Mission-oriented research describes the complete research continuum that extends from basic research to applications of research results.

This research is generally applied in nature and has, as a goal, finding solutions for problems facing society related to the mission of the UCCE Specialist s discipline and the UCCE mission. UCCE Specialists publish the results of applied research in a combination of peer-reviewed publications and stakeholder-facing materials, including refereed journals, technical reports, and white papers, tailored to the needs of the audiences their programs serve.

Extension programs disseminate knowledge and information to clientele groups to help them better understand and address problems and opportunities they face. The extension educational program serves the University s public service mission. Educational program activities include but are not limited to collaborations with UCCE Advisors, other UCCE Specialists, campus faculty, program teams, work groups, or clientele groups; developing and presenting educational materials;

communicating to clientele through broadcast, print, or electronic media; participating in meetings with clientele; developing and delivering in-service training courses; organizing or participating in workshops, field tours, symposia or conferences. Much of this work is conducted in partnership with UC ANR s locally based UCCE Advisors. The UCCE Specialist-Advisor and faculty partnership creates an applied research network that benefits both the University and the public s position does not include formal classroom instruction at the University.

The Specialist will be part of the University of California, Santa Cruz Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The position will be based primarily at the Westside Research Park, near the UCSC main campus, managed by the Baskin School of Engineering, with secondary office space and presence required at the Monterey Bay Education, Science, and Technology Center (MBEST), in the emerging food safety nexus of Monterey County.

While the Food Safety Modernization Act dictates federal mandates for food safety regulation, wholesalers and buyers drive current compliance practices with more stringent standards enforced via third-party regulators. This de facto enforcement landscape, with proprietary third-party metrics, is obscure and does not necessarily utilize science-based assessment of food safety outcomes. Moreover, increasing pressures for organic/regenerative farm practices (e.g., compost, hedgerows for biodiversity, conservation setbacks, reduced chemical applications), driven by consumers and produce buyers, are often at odds with food safety risk reduction best practices.

This Specialist will examine and exploit the potential of agricultural technologies to address food safety.

Primary duties and responsibilities for this Specialist include
:

• Collaborating extensively with UCSC faculty, as well as UC ANR s network of advisors, specialists, AES faculty, statewide programs, program teams, and institutes. Additional potential collaborators include other UC campuses, the California State University Monterey Bay, Hartnell College, Cabrillo Community College, other academic institutions, community partners, government agencies, and industry partners.
• Designing and conducting applied research focused on the intersection of food safety and technology. Potential…