Postdoctoral Fellow – Hybrid Rice Breeding

About IRRI

Job Purpose

The Rice Breeding Innovations Department will develop and deploy innovative breeding strategies, tools, and technologies to sustainably enhance the genetic potential of rice for yield and its ability to tolerate biotic and abiotic stresses while improving the grain/nutritional quality; and helping disseminate the new products faster to farmers by working closely with our NARES partners.

The position requires the incumbent to have a leading role in organizing and collecting data from Hybrid-breeding activities including two and three-line hybrids to expand new AI/ML models for predicting climate-resilient, low-carbon footprint, nutritious, and healthier rice hybrids.

The position requires strong knowledge of the application of AI/ML tools in the fields of biotechnology, climate change, and human health. This is to be achieved by working closely with the teams carrying out hybrid rice breeding, biometrics support, phenotyping scientists, and trait introgression scientists from IRRI-HQ, SAH, and JNKVV, India. Extensive hands-on knowledge and understanding of hybrid rice breeding and genetics and phenotyping of germplasm under challenging environments. Expertise in biotechnology, genomic selection, data analysis, and simulation work using machine learning and deep learning approaches, working knowledge of Python and other software is required. The position requires expertise in effectively engaging with the NARES partners and closer involvement in capacity-building programs. Capability and demonstration to train scholars and lead the associate researchers in the team are highly required.

This position will be based at the IRRI Headquarters, Los Baños, Philippines and is open for international applications.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy AI models for AI-hybrid rice using the ORYZA platform to predict the best hybrid combination in different target environments.
• Apply the AI/ML tools to identify nutritious and healthier hybrids, low-carbon footprint hybrids, and climate-resilient hybrids for different market segments
• Identify genes governing methane emission and unravel molecular mechanisms to reduce methane in hybrid rice program and validate them by using AI/ML approaches
• Identifying the genes for nutritional traits, understanding their molecular mechanisms in hybrid rice, and validating them by using AI/ML approaches
• Conduct, collect data, and monitor targeted experiments in India, Bangladesh, and China.
• Align with internal and external stakeholders in order to effectively manage the implementation of the experiments/surveys and other related research studies
• Secure the experiment/research study by constantly coordinating with the supervisors, project partners, leaders, and collaborators
• Ensure the efficiency of the research activities by continuous monitoring and coordination with other units and/or contractors
• Assist the supervisor in accomplishing important tasks as and when required
• Consolidate, verify, and analyze collected data using the appropriate advanced machine learning, deep learning, and statistical tools and draw conclusions by interpreting the outcome of the data based on the defined objective of the study independently
• Deliver significant contributions to the writing of reports, scientific papers, articles, posters, databases for publications and presentations on the local and international scale
• Publish results in peer-reviewed high impact journals

Qualifications

• At least 2-3 years post-PhD experience in AI and ML models, with demonstrable applications in the fields of hybrid breeding, molecular biology, climate resilience screening, and human health.

Skills Required

Mandatory

• Knowledge of handling AI and ML tools in the field of agriculture and human health
• Handling big data sets on climate and genomics
• Rice molecular biology, particularly hybrid rice
• Deep knowledge of biotechnology and gene validation

Preferred

• Experience in hybrid rice is highly preferred

IRRI offers a highly extensive employee benefits package inclusive of globally-covered medical insurance, retirement plan, life and accident insurance and other allowances.

Join our team and be part of our story!

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
This position will remain open until filled.