Junior Specialist/Swett lab (2)

at  University of California Davis

POSITION OVERVIEW

Salary range: A reasonable estimate for this position is $53,100 at Step 1.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

**POSITION DESCRIPTION for Junior Specialist in the Swett Lab

QUALIFICATIONS

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
This position requires a minimum of a Bachelor of Science in Plant Pathology or related discipline in hand by start date.
NOTE: The junior specialist rank is an entry level position; accordingly, it is inappropriate to hire applicants with advanced degrees in this field, or those with BS degrees and three years’ relevant work experience

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Document requirements
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Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
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Cover Letter (Optional)
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Statement of Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion documented in the application file will be used to evaluate applicants. Visit
(Optional)

REFERENCE REQUIREMENTS

• 3-5 required (contact information only)
  Apply link:
  Help contact: lvaldovinos@ucdavis.edu

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESIGNATED AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Junior Specialists in the Swett lab are expected have an interest in sustainable agriculture, plant health management, fungal evolution and ecology, extension, disease diagnostics, or a related field. The incumbent must be a motivated, organized, and independently driven individual who is able to work and collaborate with members of the lab in a professional manner. They must therefore have excellent organizational skills, including abilities for short-term and long-term time management. As a contributor to research projects, the incumbent is expected to contribute to scholarly manuscripts, outreach publications and reports, and present work at local, statewide and national meetings. Work will be conducted in the lab, in campus greenhouses, field research stations on and off campus, and on commercial farms. Crop foci include tomato, garlic, and onion, although some research projects encompass a wide range of allied rotation crops. The Swett lab is a supportive community strongly committed to mentoring and aims to position Junior specialists to be competitive for diverse career tracks or to graduate programs; career mentoring is included as part of this position.

The incumbent of this position will be actively and significantly involved in publishable research activities through the following roles and duties:

• Assist the PI in discovery and documentation of new pathogens through analyses of unknown diseases present in vegetable and field crops in California, pathogen characterization (molecular identification and Koch’s postulates) and preparation of outreach articles for trade journals and first reports for publication in peer reviewed journals.
• Assist the PI and research cooperators in development and establishment of field trials (experimental design, study set up), data collection, data analysis and interpretation.
• Contribution to resulting reports, grant proposals, outreach articles for trade journals, and scholarly manuscripts for peer reviewed journals.
• Under PI supervision, develop and conduct laboratory and greenhouse trials to test hypotheses relating to fungal pathogen ecology, evolution, and management through design, study installation, data collection and analysis, and preparation of scholarly manuscripts and reports—either relevant sections, or entire manuscripts, based on the extent of the contribution.
• Project development will involve active engagement of literature in project development and interpretation beyond that expected in a purely technical capacity, for hypothesis development, development and optimization of protocols, and development of introductory and discussion material in the preparation of manuscripts and reports