Senior Research Associate

Position Function:

Coastal Research and Extension Center South MS Branch Experiment Station is recruiting a time-limited Senior Research Associate to support specialty crop research with an emphasis on AI and computer visiondriven quantity and quality analysis in specialty crop systems. The successful candidate will lead research activities focused on the development analysis and deployment of advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence models for digital agriculture applications including plant phenotyping yield estimation quality assessment and crop health monitoring. This work will involve designing end-to-end image- and sensor-based data pipelines; acquiring and curating datasets from field and greenhouse environments; developing and validating perception and learning models; and translating quantitative model outputs into agriculturally meaningful metrics that support specialty crop research and decision-making. The candidate will collaborate closely with faculty research staff and students to integrate AI-enabled workflows into experimental studies contribute to grant proposals and peer-reviewed publications and enhance the Centers capacity for data-driven agricultural innovation. The position will be based in Poplarville MS.

Salary Grade:15

Please see Staff Compensation Structure or Skilled Crafts and Service Maintenance Compensation Schedule for salary ranges. For salary grade UC these positions are Unclassified and salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.

Department Profile:

Mississippi State Universitys Coastal Research and Extension Center in support of its South MS Branch Experiment Station (CREC-SMBES) is seeking time-limited Senior Research Associate to support specialty crop research with an emphasis on AI and computer visiondriven quantity and quality analysis in specialty crop systems.
The position will be based in Poplarville MS.

Area of Specialization:

AI and computer vision-driven specialty crop research

Anticipated Appointment Date:

April 2026.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Oversee day-to-day operations of digital agriculture and perform data collection in fields across different seasons and environmental conditions supporting specialty crop systems in field and greenhouse environments.
2. Develop and optimize computer vision machine learning and AI workflows for image- and sensor-based analysis of quantity and quality including plant phenotyping yield estimation and crop health assessment.
3. Establish and maintain data acquisition and analysis pipelines including imaging protocols sensor integration data curation model training validation and performance evaluation.
4. Engage with internal and external university and federal partners for other collaborative research projects including grant proposal development and manuscript preparation.
5. Participate in conferences workshops and professional development activities to remain current with emerging technologies in digital agriculture AI and computer vision.
6. Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

A Masters Degree in Computer Science Computer Engineering Electrical Engineering or a closely related field is required for this position. The successful candidate must have a minimum of six (6) years of relevant or equivalent research experience.
Or;
A Ph.D. in Computer Science Computer Engineering Electrical Engineering or a closely related field. The successful candidate must have a minimum of three (3) years of relevant postdoctoral or equivalent research experience

Preferred Qualifications:

Applicants with prior knowledge and experience in digital agriculture computer vision machine learning sensing technologies and image-based analysis for agricultural or biological systems are particularly encouraged to apply. Experience with multimodal sensing field or greenhouse data collection and externally funded research projects is highly desirable.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

Applicants must possess the skills required to organize and manage assigned duties including:
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills related to computer vision and AI model development.
Excellent written and oral communication skills including the ability to contribute to scientific publications and grant proposals.
Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within interdisciplinary research teams.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple research tasks and timelines concurrently.

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

Must be able to lift 50 lbs.

Instructions for Applying:

Link to apply: Date:

March 31 2026 until filled.

Restricted Clause:

Position is contingent upon continued availability of funding.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination is prohibited in university employment programs or activities based on race color ethnicity sex pregnancy religion national origin disability age sexual orientation genetic information status as a U.S. veteran or any other status to the extent protected by applicable law. Questions about equal opportunity programs or compliance should be directed to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance 231 Famous Maroon Band Street P.O. 6044 Mississippi State MS 39762 .

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