Legume Breeder

Career Placement; Lexington (KY); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement plan

Medical coverage

Life insurance

Dental & vision

Job summary

The University of Kentucky invites applications for an Assistant or Associate Professor in Plant and Soil Sciences, focusing on legume breeding and genomics. This is a 12-month, tenure-track role in Lexington with approximately 85% research, 10% teaching, and 5% service, starting July 1, 2027.

The successful candidate will develop germplasm using genomic approaches, collaborate with USDA-ARS, advise graduate students, and contribute to undergraduate programs while advancing climate-resilient

Qualifications

• Earned doctorate in plant breeding, plant biology, genetics, agronomy, or related areas.
• Post‑doctoral/faculty experience in modern and classical plant breeding desirable.
• Strong written and oral communication skills required; potential for extramural funding.

Responsibilities

• Lead genomic and field/greenhouse breeding research to develop germplasm and databases for legume forages.
• Teach courses supporting undergraduate and graduate programs in Plant & Soil Sciences.
• Provide graduate education: advise students and serve on committees; engage in service across college and university.

Skills

Genomics

Plant breeding

Research leadership

Communication

Education

PhD in plant breeding/related

Job description

Faculty Position – Legume Breeder

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

TITLE: Assistant or Associate Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences, Regular Title Series

RESPONSIBILITIES: This is a tenure eligible position with a 12-month appointment and approximately 85% research, 10% instruction, and 5% service responsibilities. The annual distribution of effort will be aligned with this colleague’s strengths and college/department needs. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2027.

Research: This faculty member will use genomic approaches, coupled with field and greenhouse research, to develop novel germplasm and genomic resources and/or databases for under-resourced legume forage and cover crops relevant to pasture, hayfields, and cropping systems of Kentucky. This person will also have complementary innovative multi-disciplinary research on topics such as the plant-animal health interface, novel grassland/forage management approaches, breeding for climate resilience, and the integration of the improved germplasm into sustainable production systems. Collaboration with the USDA-ARS-Forage Animal Production Research Unit is expected, particularly in the arena of breeding for legume isoflavone optimization and use in forage systems. The incumbent will pursue cutting edge research on breeding for crop mixtures, or crop systems as a whole versus the plant in isolation. This may involve advanced statistical approaches and/or machine learning or AI. The successful applicant will contribute to graduate student education by advising students and serving on graduate committees.

Instruction: The successful applicant will contribute to the instructional mission of the department by teaching classes that support multiple undergraduate degree programs (e.g., Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology or Agricultural Ecosystem Science) and/or the Integrated Plant & Soil Sciences graduate degree program.

Service: As a land‑grant university, service to department, college, university, professional society, and/or society at large is expected.

QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must have an earned doctorate in plant breeding, plant biology, genetics, agronomy, or related areas. Post‑doctoral or faculty experience in modern and classical plant breeding, as well as in aspects of genome‑scale plant biology, is desirable. Evidence of strong written and oral communication skills is required and it is expected that the incumbent will obtain extramural funding to support a vigorous research program. Applicants for appointment at the Associate Professor level should demonstrate a record of accomplishment appropriate for that rank.

RANK AND SALARY: The rank of this position is at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. Salary is negotiable and is commensurate with training and experience. Employment at Employment at UK is subject to fund availability and comes with diverse rewards, focusing on your total well‑being and career development, with leadership striving to provide a strong work‑life integration. The university generously contributes to employees’ retirement plans, medical coverage, and life insurance. In addition, UK offers optional benefits such as dental and vision insurance, additional retirement plans and much more. To learn more about these benefits, please visit: https://hr.uky.edu/employment/our-benefits.

THE ENVIRONMENT: The Martin‑Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (M‑G CAFE) is fulfilling the land‑grant promise of educational excellence, civic leadership, transformational research, and shared knowledge serving the common good. We serve the people of the Commonwealth and across the world through education, outreach, service, and research by finding solutions to improve lives today and create a sustainable future. We integrate teaching, research, and extension in our work. We recruit, retain, and graduate students who are competent, responsible, and workforce ready. For more than 130 years, M‑G CAFE has provided research results to the community. From traditional labs and research farms to high‑tech diagnostic and research centers, we offer science‑based, practical solutions that affect the everyday lives of Kentuckians and people around the world. Our Cooperative Extension programs are engaged in Kentucky’s 120 counties, identifying and addressing needs not only in agriculture and natural resources, but also 4‑H and youth development, family and consumer sciences, as well as community & economic development.

The University of Kentucky is an institution with over 27,500 undergraduate and 9,500 graduate students. UK is Kentucky’s flagship university and a land grant institution. We have a university commitment to improve the lives of Kentuckians and beyond and that is why environmental stewardship and sustainability are core parts of our institution’s legacy. We are recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, a Gold level Bicycle Friendly University by The League of American Bicyclists, and are recognized as a STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) Silver Rating by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The university is geographically near downtown Lexington, which offers the vibrancy of an urban location while being in close proximity to working landscapes and recognized wilderness areas. It is a thriving community of 320,000+ with a strong commitment to quality of life, education, and the arts. Lexington is in the Bluegrass Region, an internationally acclaimed cultural landscape and agricultural region.

QUESTIONS AND/OR NOMINATIONS TO:

Dr. Hongyan Zhu

Chair, Search Committee

301B Plant Sciences

University of Kentucky

Lexington KY 40546-0312

Phone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Web: https://personnel.mgcafe.uky.edu/directory/zhu-hongyan

The University follows both the federal and state Constitutions as well as all applicable federal and state laws on nondiscrimination. The University provides equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, social or economic status or whether the person is a smoker or nonsmoker, as long as the person complies with University regulation concerning smoking.