USDA-ARS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Legume Genome Bioinformatics

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education; Ames (IA); On-site; USD 75,284 - 90,234; Full time

Job summary

The USDA Office of Analytical Research Service (ARS) in Ames, Iowa seeks a Ph.D.-qualified researcher for a short-term fellowship focused on computational biology of soybean and other legume genomic, and phenotypic datasets. Anticipated start: October 2026; initial length: One year, renewal possible; full-time appointment with a stipend of $75,284–$90,234 per year; U.S.

citizen only; Doctoral degree received within the last 60 months; preferred skills in Unix scripting, Python, Perl, awk, and R

Qualifications

• PhD in a relevant field obtained within the last five years.
• Experience with computational biology and plant genomics.
• Citizenship: U.S. citizen.

Responsibilities

• Apply computational biology, genetics, and AI methods to legume genomic datasets.
• Conduct scientific manuscript writing.

Skills

Genomic sequence analysis

Plant genetics

Unix scripting

Python

Perl

R

Genome alignment

Phylogenetic analysis

Statistical methods

Botanical knowledge

Education

Doctoral degree in relevant field

Tools

Unix

Python

Perl

awk

R

Job description

Description

The USDA Office of Analytical Research Service (ARS) located in Ames, Iowa seeks a Ph.D. qualified researcher for a short‑term fellowship focused on computational biology of soybean and other legume genetic, genomic, and phenotypic datasets.

Research Project

The project aims to provide stewardship of legume genomic datasets, identify conserved genetic elements across taxonomic depths, and utilize high‑value elements for crop improvement using computational biology methods in a Unix environment on high‑performance computing resources.

Learning Objectives

• Apply computational biology, genetics, and AI methods, including marker‑trait association, syntenic relationship analysis, pan‑genome metrics, gene family inference, and evolutionary event inference.
• Conduct scientific manuscript writing.

Mentor

Steven Cannon ([e-mail])

Appointment

• Anticipated start: October 2026 (flexible).
• Initial length: One year, renewal possible.
• Participation: Full time.

Stipend

$75,284 – $90,234 per year, commensurate with experience.

Citizenship Requirements

U.S. citizen only.

Qualifications

Doctoral degree in a relevant field obtained within the last five years.

Preferred Skills

• Knowledge of genomic sequence analysis and plant genetics.
• Unix scripting, proficiency in Python, Perl, awk, or R.
• Experience with genome alignment, phylogenetic tree construction, and statistical methods for sequence homology interpretation.
• Botanical knowledge of major angiosperm taxa.

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only.
• Doctoral degree received within the last 60 months.
• Eligible disciplines: Computer and Information Sciences, Scientific Computing and Informatics, Software Engineering, Life Health and Medical Sciences, etc.
• Veteran status: Preference for veterans with a degree received within the last 120 months.

Application Deadline

8/28/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Contact

Sara Beth