Career Center

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Adaptive Cropping Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, is seeking highly qualified candidates for a permanent full-time Research Soil Scientist/Research Agronomist/Research Agricultural Engineer position.  This position affords the opportunity to:

• Utilize innovative and cutting-edge research methods to quantify the influence of cover crop biomass production on soil health and cash crop performance as affected by climate, management, and species.
• Investigate and assess soil resilience and health over a range of cropping systems.
• Use open top chambers, controlled environment chambers and field research to obtain experimental data regarding cover crop biomass growth, residue mass at termination, soil properties, cash crop production and other related characteristics from multiple locations, cover crop species, and cash crop production systems.
• Investigate the effects of elevated T and C on nutrient balances; soil microbiome and plant system biomass, sequestration of C and N, ecosystem services and GHG emissions.
• Work with crop and soil modelers to modify, apply, improve, and validate models of cover crop and cash crop growth.
• Develop research plans and work collaboratively with scientists from other USDA-ARS laboratories and be expected to coordinate, evaluate, and manage human, fiscal and physical resources for the project.
• Disseminates research findings in peer-reviewed journals and provides consultation, both internal and external to ARS.

Contact Drs. V.R. Reddy (vr.reddy@usda.gov) or David Fleisher (david.fleisher@usda.gov) for questions regarding this position.

To apply, print a copy of vacancy announcement ARS-D24Y-12220721-ST from the ARS Careers Website at www.ars.usda.gov/careers, and follow the application directions provided. Applications must be received by January 2, 2024. U.S. citizenship is required. 

U.S. citizenship is required.

Ph.D. in relevant field is required at time of application.

About USDA-ARS

As the principal in-house scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has career opportunities for permanent and temporary employees. Being a scientific research agency, many of the careers available are in the life, physical, and engineering sciences. ARS employs research scientists, postdoctoral research associates, support scientists and research technicians, as well as positions in various professional, technical, administrative, secretarial and clerical, and trades and crafts occupational areas. Your work will matter • to everyday people from babies to seniors; to farmers and ranchers; to all kinds of businesses large and small; and to a future world with many more people to feed, less land suitable for growing crops and sustaining livestock, and an environment under increasing pressure from myriad sources.When we search for new people to join ARS, we look for individuals with intelligence, creativity, and energy intrigued by 21st century challenges and eager to solve them.

Connections working at USDA-ARS