Post Doctoral Fellow Combined Level 1/2 (PD1/2) VistaMilk Research Centre
Location: Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork
Salary: Post Doc (Combined) with a Salary Scale of €44,128 to €52,340
Closing Date: 25/04/2025 12:00 PM
Funded Full Time
Job Description
Duration: Temporary Post-Doctoral Appointment. This is an externally funded non Grant-in-Aid contract post, the indicative duration of which is 43.5 months, subject to contract. A panel may be formed from which future similar vacancies may be filled; such a panel will remain active for a maximum period of 12 months.
Basic Function: The Postdoctoral Researcher will be part of the VistaMilk Research Centre and will specifically work on the System of Systems (SoS) platform. The successful candidate will play a critical role in advancing pasture modeling capabilities within the VistaMilk Research Centre. This position is central to the development of cutting-edge tools for precision pasture management, integrating mechanistic modeling with other modeling techniques to deliver improved predictions of grass growth and grass quality. The research will build on the existing MoSt grass growth (GG) model, enhancing its capacity to account for soil moisture dynamics, legume inclusion, and environmental impacts. This work will contribute directly to decision-support systems such as PastureBase Ireland and national initiatives like the Farming Weather Forecast. The successful candidate will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of researchers across Teagasc, UCD, ICBF, and other partner organizations, ensuring the research addresses both scientific challenges and real-world applications.
The successful candidate will be based at Teagasc, Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork. Other Teagasc research centres may be considered solely at the discretion of Teagasc management.
Job Objectives
Duties & Responsibilities specific to this project:
* Proactively identify limitations in the current grass growth prediction framework and lead the development of innovative improvements to increase model accuracy and real-world applicability.
* Develop a grass quality predictor based on weather, soil type, and management, and integrate it into the MoSt GG model.
* Develop and evaluate hybrid AI techniques to improve grass growth predictions at the farm level.
* Integrate the pasture module with the soil and animal modules within the System of Systems platform.
* Implement and maintain robust model versioning practices to ensure traceability, reproducibility, and effective collaboration across modelling workflows.
* Collaborate with researchers across Teagasc, UCD, ICBF, and other external partners to ensure the effective delivery of project objectives.
* Disseminate findings through peer-reviewed publications, conferences, and public engagement activities.
* Participate in the supervision of MSc and PhD students.
Additional Duties & Responsibilities:
* Interpret research findings and prepare scientific and popular press publications.
* Disseminate research findings to a variety of audiences as appropriate.
* Assist Teagasc in meeting the commitments of the Quality Customer Service Charter and Action Plan.
* Contribute to the documentation and version control of modeling tools, datasets, and codebases to support reproducibility and knowledge transfer.
* Comply with all relevant Teagasc policies and procedures.
* Fully cooperate with the provisions for ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of themselves, fellow staff, and non-Teagasc staff, and cooperate with management to enable Teagasc to comply with legal obligations, including full compliance with responsibilities outlined in the Safety Statement.
* Actively participate in the Teagasc Postdoctoral Fellowship programme and associated training and review processes, and undertake all fellowship training and duties as agreed in the Training & Development Plan.
* Take up additional duties as they arise and are assigned by management.
Skills Requirement
* A PhD in Agricultural Science, Environmental Science, Data Science, or a related discipline.
* Up to 3 years post-PhD research experience.
* Strong expertise in biological system modeling, particularly in grassland or crop systems.
* Proven experience with programming and data analysis tools (e.g., R, Python).
* Demonstrated ability to work with multidisciplinary teams and external collaborators.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a strong publication record.
* Commitment to teamwork and collaborating with colleagues as per our Teagasc Together ethos.
* Excellent project management, analytical, report writing, and data analysis skills, e.g., R, Python, with experience in version control systems (e.g., Git) for collaborative code and model development.
* Experience with pasture-based systems, soil science, or legume-based cropping systems.
* Knowledge of nitrogen cycle processes, GHG emissions, and carbon sequestration modeling.
* Experience with model integration into large-scale platforms or decision-support tools.
* Evidence of teamwork and collaboration with relevant partners.
Other: Candidates must satisfy and continue to satisfy, during employment with Teagasc, legal requirements to drive a car unaccompanied on Irish public roads.
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