Remote Plant Pathologist: Global Crop Health & IPM

Placements24; Richards Bay; Remote; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Generous paid time off

Professional growth opportunities

Job summary

Placements24 seeks a Remote Plant Pathologist to join a global research division dedicated to diagnosing and managing plant diseases across major crops. You will leverage remote sensing, imaging, and molecular data to develop disease prevention strategies and support international collaborators.

The role requires a PhD with extensive postdoctoral experience, strong communication skills, and the ability to work autonomously in a distributed team.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Plant Pathology, Botany, Microbiology, or related field with a strong focus on plant diseases.
• Minimum of 6 years of post-doctoral research experience in plant pathology with a publication record in peer-reviewed journals.
• Extensive knowledge of fungal, bacterial, viral, and other plant pathogens and their interactions with host plants.
• Proven experience in disease diagnosis, epidemiology, and control strategies for major agricultural crops.
• Proficiency in interpreting molecular data, epidemiological data, and image analysis. Experience with remote sensing or digital imaging is highly advantageous.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills; excellent written and verbal communication; able to work independently in a global team.

Responsibilities

• Diagnose plant diseases using remote sensing data, image analysis, and field reports.
• Review literature and synthesize scientific information on plant diseases and their management.
• Develop and validate diagnostic protocols and models for identifying pathogens and their effects.
• Collaborate with international teams to monitor disease spread, risk factors, and crop losses.
• Contribute to IPM/IDM strategies and to grant proposals and project planning.
• Analyze molecular data and lab results from collaborating labs to confirm diagnoses.
• Prepare scientific reports, research papers, and presentations for dissemination.
• Stay abreast of emerging plant diseases and diagnostic technologies; participate in virtual meetings and collaborative research initiatives.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Problem-solving

Communication skills

Independent work

Team collaboration

Education

PhD in Plant Pathology or related field

Tools

Slack

Zoom

Shared documents platforms

Job description

Placements24 seeks a Remote Plant Pathologist to join a global research division dedicated to diagnosing and managing plant diseases across major crops. You will leverage remote sensing, imaging, and molecular data to develop disease prevention strategies and support international collaborators.

The role requires a PhD with extensive postdoctoral experience, strong communication skills, and the ability to work autonomously in a distributed team.