Postdoctoral Research Agricultural Engineer

USDA ARS

Hilo, Hawaii

28/03/2024

Open until filled

https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=438966

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, Hawaii, is seeking highly qualified candidates for an Administrator-funded Postdoctoral Research Agricultural Engineer position, which requires U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. With its unique location, at nearly 2,500 miles from the US mainland, Hawaii’s ag industry faces some unique postharvest challenges compared to the US mainland: energy cost, labor shortage, pest management, transportation/export, etc. As part of the Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research Unit, we aim to develop technologies to help open and maintain market access and improve quality of tropical fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops grown in the Pacific Basin. The Postdoctoral Research Engineer will be assigned to a research project to optimize the process of producing Hawaii breadfruit flour through an integrated energy and quality approach, with a long-term vision to expand processing capabilities that support the storage and distribution of processed food to help mitigate food insecurity among the islands. The project is under the parent project: Postharvest Protection of Tropical Commodities for Improved Market Access and Quarantine Security. The Postdoctoral Research Engineer will design and conduct experiments to: establish the drying kinetics of fresh and frozen breadfruit under several combinations of pretreatment(s) and drying methods and parameters while measuring the specific energy consumption (SEC), analyze products for nutritional quality, evaluate products for sensory quality, and disseminate research findings in peer-reviewed journals and through stakeholder networks. This position also has the opportunities to be involved in our collaborative projects working with food technologists, entomologists, (micro)biologists, plant pathologists, etc. within the Center, as well as other ARS locations, universities, and our industry partners and stakeholders. To apply, and if any questions regarding the position, contact Dr. Peishih Liang (Peishih.liang@usda.gov). U.S. citizenship or permanent residence is required. The successful candidate will be hired at General Schedule (GS) grade 11. Please see OPM website for the salary table: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/general-schedule/ Experience in food processing, Design of Experiments/statistics is required. Food science/technology background is preferred. Experience in machine learning/AI is preferred. Ph.D. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Food Science/Technology, or relevant fields is required.