Postdoc: Social Scientist in Agriculture & Digital Tech

University of Missouri-Columbia; Columbia Township (MO); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Missouri-Columbia seeks a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to join the Center for Regenerative Agriculture in Columbia, MO. The role focuses on socio-economic impact and adoption behavior of virtual fencing technologies for livestock, with supervision under Dr. Kelly Wilson.

The position involves survey design, quantitative analysis, and mixed-method integration, with opportunities to publish in peer‑reviewed venues and contribute to extension materials.

Qualifications

• PhD in sociology, applied agricultural economics, rural sociology, natural resources social sciences, or related field by appointment.

Responsibilities

• Co-lead design and implementation of producer surveys, including development, administration, and response rate monitoring.
• Manage, clean, and analyze quantitative datasets using reproducible workflows and statistics.
• Provide quantitative methodological expertise to the research team.
• Apply social science theories to research design and measurement.
• Integrate survey findings with qualitative data from farmer interviews in mixed methods.
• Support qualitative data collection and analysis with farmers and farm partners.
• Liaise with virtual fencing technology developers and project partners.
• Lead or co-lead peer-reviewed manuscripts and disseminate findings through extensions and publications.

Skills

Quantitative methods

Survey design

Mixed methods

Statistical analysis

Education

PhD in sociology or related social sciences

Tools

R

Stata

SPSS

Job description

University of Missouri-Columbia seeks a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to join the Center for Regenerative Agriculture in Columbia, MO. The role focuses on socio-economic impact and adoption behavior of virtual fencing technologies for livestock, with supervision under Dr. Kelly Wilson.

The position involves survey design, quantitative analysis, and mixed-method integration, with opportunities to publish in peer‑reviewed venues and contribute to extension materials.