Research Fellow

Full-time, 3-year fixed term contract
- $106,194 - $125,797 (ALB) per annum plus 17% superannuation
- Based at Curtin University in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia

**Job Reference: 1092095**

**The Centre for Crop and Disease Management**

The Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM) at Curtin University works alongside the agricultural industry to reduce the economic burden of crop disease and increase profitability for Australian farmers. With a large team of more than 100 research staff and students, CCDM’s multidisciplinary approach uniquely allows us to effectively deliver robust solutions to challenges faced by Australian producers.

The Agribusiness Profitability Initiative within the Centre for Crop and Disease Management at Curtin University is a research group that brings together expertise in data science, geographical information systems, farming systems, agribusiness, as well as spatial modelling, machine learning, computer vision, optimisation, and econometrics. We have strong industry partnerships and focus on research to overcome key challenges for broadacre agriculture and horticulture through data visualisation and development of decision support for farmers, agronomists, and industry professionals. Our goal is to use data and advanced analytics to underpin sustainable agricultural production by improving return on investment and management of risks associated with farming.

**Your new role**

We have an exciting opportunity for a Post-doctoral Fellow to join our multidisciplinary team to engage with industry to co-design solutions to problems they face and develop questions for further research. You will use data from multiple platforms (proximal and remote sensed) to create the capability to visualise, analyse and provide data-driven decision support outputs. The aim is to assist farm businesses to make critical decisions using agricultural data in an effective and timely manner.

Capacity for data fusion and spatial analysis is a major component of the position, drawing on significant, georeferenced data sets. Development of reliable data pipelines, models, and analytical tools to enable rapid and effective analysis of on-farm factors which determine the return on investment of farm inputs and long-term risk management strategies will be key to the role.

Collaboration with a broad scientific team including data science, GIS and agronomy experts will make up a large part of your day-to-day activities, as well as supporting and supervising staff and students to help ensure discoveries in this field are making a significant impact. This position is co-located with a large group of research-focussed biometry, data science, bioinformatics, and advanced computational scientists with an emphasis on the grains industry.

In this role, you can expect many opportunities for professional development, with one of our Centre’s three objectives revolving around improving human capacity to meet the requirements of the agriculture industry.

We are looking for someone with a PhD in a relevant discipline such as Applied Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Biological Modelling, or an equivalent field with an interest in learning agriculture.

If you want to make an important difference in your work and, in this case, help produce more food for the future, then this role is for you.

**Join us**

**Selection criteria**:

- Essential:_
- PhD in a relevant discipline such as Applied Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Biological Modelling, or an equivalent field with an interest in learning agriculture
- A knowledge of either proximal or remote sensing applicable to agriculture or biological systems
- Demonstrated geospatial experience with ESRI products (ideally ArcGIS) and other open-source GIS software
- Demonstrated experience with modern analytic platforms such as Python or R
- Good record keeping and management of large datasets
- Demonstrated effective oral and written communication skills
- A current Western Australian driver’s licence (or equivalent)
- Desirable:_
- Demonstrated experience in statistics and experimental design as applied to biology or agricultural research
- Commitment to the publication of research outputs demonstrated by a suitable publication record relative to career level and opportunity

**About us**

**CCDM is part of the Curtin School of Molecular and Life Sciences**
**. **The school, comprising of the Disciplines of Agriculture & Food, Chemistry, and Ecology, delivers outstanding education programs in these and related topics such as Agribusiness, Environmental Science, Coastal and Marine Science, and Biochemistry.

The school strives to act as a source of independent and expert advice to industry, government, and society, and to carry out research and development with relevance to the regional community.

Curtin University is ranked in the top one per cent of universities worldwide in the highly regarded Academic Ranking of World Universities