Commodities Quant Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

The purpose of this position is to contribute to the development of science-based proactive risk assessments to evaluate the likelihood that the movement of agricultural commodities during a foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak of high pathogenic Avian Influenza, Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, African Swine Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease or other FADs in the U.S would contribute to disease spread. 

The science and risk-based information developed in this research serves, and is used by, state, tribal, and federal government officials, industry, and academic partners, and intended to be incorporated into regional and national emergency response and business continuity plans. In addition to the scientific work, the risk analyst facilitates collaborative work groups with the partners and leads them through an agreement process for the parameters in the risk assessment.

The analyst is expected to present this information to scientific audiences through publication in scientific journals, presentations to national and international scientific meetings, and to government and industry leaders in technical meetings.

Job Responsibilities

30% - Proactive Risk Analysis and Emergency Response Development

• Lead the technical research, development and writing of proactive risk analysis documents to support emergency response and business continuity in the event of a Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) outbreak in the United States. 
  • This work includes defining the scope of work, developing a work plan and timeline, conducting the technical analysis, data collection, risk evaluation, and technical writing of the risk assessments.  
  • Disease-spread modeling is supported by math modeling experts.

20% - Scientific Literature and Epidemiological Research

• Conduct extensive research using a broad range of scientific literature including outbreak information, disease epidemiology, viral environmental fate and transport, chemical and physical properties of the commodities, critical industry processes and commodity supply chain structures.

15% - Data Synthesis and Risk Interpretation

• Interpret and synthesize findings from diverse resources, including published literature, industry best practices, national and international trade guidelines, and expert opinion into an interpretation of comprehensive composite risk.

15% - Scientific Risk Assessment for Commodity Movement

• Use complex scientific principles to evaluate the safe movement of agricultural commodities during a highly consequential foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak according to project aims.

5% - Analytical Methodology and Statistical Modeling

• Develop qualitative analytical methods to evaluate the identified risk pathways. 
  • The risk analyst collaborates with the modeler in development of quantitative analytical methods using statistical and simulation models to support the risk analysis.

5% - Stakeholder Outreach and Collaborative Communication

• This work involves regular communication and on-going outreach to industry leaders, academic scientists and regulatory stakeholders to obtain information on disease data gaps, current industry practices, feasibility issues and options for disease mitigation strategies during an outbreak.

5% - Multi-Disciplinary Expert Collaboration

• Identify and consult with experts across various multi-disciplinary scientific fields to address data gaps. 
• Maintain on-going engagement and collaboration with national and international Foreign Animal Disease experts.

5% - Technical Publications and Regulatory Outreach

• Education and outreach related to this work includes presentations to industry leaders, scientific audiences, publications in scientific and industry journals.  
• In addition, communication with the state and federal government through their communication resources.

Location and Work Environment 

• Remote 

Work Schedule 

• 26.8 hours/week, Monday - Friday with flexible hours 

Required Qualifications 

• Advanced degree
• Substantial research and publication record and/or experience
• Strong literature and grey literature research skills
• Knowledge of federal government regulatory processes such as USDA policy and regulation development and implementation.
• General competence with statistics 
• Excellent writing skills especially related to long technical documents
• Strong verbal, interpersonal, and group communication skills
• Ability to mediate and negotiate between partners and entities
• Must be willing to be on farms and evaluate animal agriculture processes.
• Ability to outline a project start to finish and include milestones
• Must work effectively with intermittent supervision. 
• Demonstrated project management and strong organizational skills 

Preferred Qualifications