Postdoc in Precision Agriculture and digital decision support systems

The Department of Soil & Environment
The Department is a leading center for soil science, nationally and internationally. We conduct research, environmental monitoring & assessment and higher education for sustainable soil management in agricultural, forest and urban environments. Outcomes are aligned to and contribute towards national and international strategies on food security, national environmental objectives and climate reporting as well as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The majority of the department’s activities are located in the Soil-Water-Environment center at the SLU Ultuna campus in Uppsala with a research group situated in Skara.

Duties:
A post-doctoral research opportunity is available at the Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), located to the Skara campus, Sweden. You will work in a project with the overall goal to outline and assess strategies for on-farm experiments focussing on the practical implementation and benefits of variable-rate fertilisation in Swedish field crops. One example is combining remote sensing-based decision support systems with local measurements in on-farm trial plots. Artificial intelligence and data mining techniques may be used to transfer big data into practically useful information at the farm scale. You will work in an applied research project carried out in close collaboration between academia and industry. Apart from a team of researchers at SLU, the work involves collaboration with leading actors in the Swedish crop production and precision agriculture services. Read more about the SLU research group and some related ongoing projects here: https://www.slu.se/en/departments/soil-environment/research/soil-nutrient-cycling/

As a post doc you will primarily be involved in:


• Data collection in field trials and agricultural fields (e.g. by multispectral proximal and UAV- and satellite borne sensors and crop sampling).
• Statistical analyses and development of prediction models to derive potential agronomic and environmental value as well as decision support for precision crop production.
• Communication of results to the international scientific community (including peer-reviewed publication) and popular scientific information dissemination to advisors and farmers.

Qualifications:
The successful candidate is expected to have:

 A PhD degree in a relevant subject


• High proficiency in spoken and written English
• A strong record of peer-reviewed publications
• Demonstrated skills and sincere interest in a number of the following:

• Data management and empirical modelling using data mining methods
• Geographical information systems (GIS)
• Programming in Python or R
• Crop production
• Remote sensing



In addition, candidates must have a driving license. Ability to communicate in a Scandinavian language is an advantage. Personal abilities such as organizational, interpersonal, communication and teamwork skills are important. Candidates shall be prepared to travel and conduct fieldwork in rural areas.

As postdoctoral appointments are career-developing positions for junior researchers, we are primarily looking for candidates with a doctoral degree that is three years old at most.
Place of work:
Skara

Form of employment:
Temporary employment, 24 months with possible extension.

Extent:
100%

Starting date:
2022-04-01 or according to agreement.

Application:
We welcome your application no later than 2022-02-28, use the button below.

Academic union representatives:
https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/



The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se