Junior Specialist/Del Castillo lab

University of California - Davis; Davis (CA); On-site; USD 57,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

University of California - Davis is hiring a Junior Specialist in the Del Castillo Lab to support research on sustainable agriculture, native habitats, and plant pathogen diagnostics. The role involves laboratory work, greenhouse trials, and collaboration with researchers across California.

The incumbent will assist in survey and diagnostics, develop experiments, contribute to manuscripts, and participate in public outreach and professional meetings.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Plant Pathology or related discipline by start date.
• Junior specialist rank is entry level; applying candidates do not require advanced degrees or three years of experience.

Responsibilities

• Assist the PI, SRA and graduate students with surveys of plant pathogens on vegetable and ornamental crops.
• Assist in diagnostics of plant pathogens from sample intake to report preparation.
• Help develop greenhouse trials, including design, data collection and interpretation, and contribute to manuscripts and outreach articles.
• Support plant testing at restoration nurseries across California.
• Develop and conduct lab and greenhouse trials to study fungal pathogen ecology and management.
• Engage with literature to support project development and hypothesis generation.
• Assist in grant proposal development based on preliminary data.
• Manage the laboratory culture collection and long-term storage of isolates.
• Maintain safety standards, train staff, and manage laboratory supplies.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Plant Pathology

Job description

Position overview

Salary range: $57,000 at Step 1 or $60,700 at Step 2

Application Window

Open date: August 14, 2026

Next review date: Monday, Aug 31, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Wednesday, Sep 30, 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.

Position description

Junior Specialists in the Del Castillo Lab are expected have an interest in sustainable agriculture, native habitats and forest restoration, disease diagnostics, plant health management, oomycete and fungal ecology, extension, or a related field. The incumbent must be a motivated, organized, independently driven individual who is able to work and collaborate with members of the lab in a professional manner. The Junior specialist must therefore have excellent organization skills, including abilities for short term, long-term time management and organized worked in the bench. As the major contributor to research studies, the incumbent 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, and off campus, on greenhouse and nursery facilities of ornamental crops and vegetable transplants throughout California.

Research (85%)

• Assist the PI, Staff Research Associate (SRA) and graduate students on survey of plant pathogens associated to vegetable and ornamental crops. It includes plant collection in commercial nurseries, and sample processing.
• Assist in conducting diagnostics of plant pathogens, from sample intake, processing to preparation of diagnostic reports.
• Assist the PI in development and establishment of greenhouse trials, including fungicide efficacy trials (experimental design, study set up), data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and contribution to resulting reports, outreach articles for trade journals, and scholarly manuscripts for peer reviewed journals.
• Assist the SRA in conducting plant testing (leachate pear baiting) at restoration nurseries across California.
• Independently develop and conduct laboratory and greenhouse trials to test hypotheses relating to fungal pathogen ecology and management (analysis of management strategies, fungicide resistance, pathogen-host- environment interactions) 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, including use of literature for hypothesis development, development of literature reviews, development of introductory and discussion material in the preparation of manuscripts and reports. Some literature will be provided (books, articles), but it is expected that the incumbent will conduct literature searches to identify additional materials.
• Assist the PI in development of grant proposals based on preliminary data collected in previous studies conducted by the incumbent, including development of project objectives, experimental methods and project background information.
• Manage the laboratory culture collection by overseeing the long term storage process of fungal, oomycete and bacterial isolates.
• As a full-time lab member, this position includes responsibility for maintaining safety standards and meeting regulatory requirements, staff training and mentoring (undergraduate student technicians), and general laboratory supply ordering and maintenance.

Professional Competence (10%)

• The incumbent will present research at both statewide outreach meetings, regional plant pathology meetings (e.g. Soil Borne Pathogens Conference, American Pathological Society, Pacific Division) and national meetings (e.g. American Pathological Society Annual Meeting). Presentations will be delivered in poster and oral presentation formats. The incumbent will have opportunities to develop presentation abilities in laboratory meetings and the UC Davis plant pathology department retreat and other local (on-campus) events.
• The incumbent will be encouraged to have membership with the American Phytopathological Society, Pacific Division and national.

University and Public Service (5%)

• As part of UC service and service to the public, the incumbent will help serve critical disease diagnosis needs for crop producers as well as for research scientist at UC Davis, and within UC cooperative extension. These diagnosis services are conducted free of charge, representing a significant service to the ornamental producers and research community.
• As a component of university service, the incumbent will also be asked to serve on one or more department committees, such as the Department Safety Committee or the Facilities Committee.
• As a public service, the incumbent will also be encouraged to deliver oral presentations at public events, such as those held by The Phytophthoras in Native Habitats Work Group and the Vegetable Transplant Nursery Association meetings.

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

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter
• Authorization to Release Information Form - This form is required for all applicants applying to academic recruitments. Please see the Employment Disclosure Requirements webpage for more information. Download, complete, sign, and upload the form.

Reference requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)

About UC Davis

• As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.
• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
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To implement this process, UC Davis requires all applicants for any open search to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled, "Authorization to Release Information" into UC RECRUIT as part of their application. If an applicant does not include the signed authorization with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete, and as with any incomplete application, will not receive further consideration.

UC Davis is a smoke and tobacco-free campus.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

Under Federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally able to work in the United States as established by providing documents as specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Certain UC Davis positions funded by federal contracts or sub-contracts require the selected candidate to pass an E-Verify check.

The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all employees and students. Our excellence in research, teaching, and service are embodied by members of our academic community who share our commitment to these values. A variety of resources and programs are available to academics, staff, and students that reflect the core values reflected in our strategic plan: "To Boldly Go," our Principles of Community, the Office of Academic Affairs' Mission Statement, and the UC Board of Regents Policy 4400.

UC Davis is also a national leader in inclusive practice. There are numerous links available on the About Us webpage where you can learn more about our administration, campus rankings, locations, campus safety, sustainability, visiting UC Davis and UC Davis Health.

The university is consistently ranked among the top institutions in the world for campus sustainability practices by the UI Green Metric World University Rankings. UC Davis is focused on achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and repeatedly shown its commitment to preserving a healthy and sustainable environment for generations to come.

The University of California and UC Davis are committed to offering a wide variety of benefits for employees. The University of California Employee benefits and UC Davis New Employee benefits webpages have additional information.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

Job location

Davis, CA