Plant Breeding Assistant Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Job Title
Assistant/Associate/Full Professor - Small Grains Breeding
Agency
Texas A&M Agrilife Research
Department
Amarillo
Proposed Minimum Salary
Commensurate
Job Location
Canyon, Texas
Job Type
Faculty
Job Description
About Texas A&M AgriLife
Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
• Texas A&M AgriLife Research
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University
• Texas A&M Forest Service
• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

As the nation's largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.
Click here to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!
Position Information
Texas A&M AgriLife Research seeks an innovative and dynamic research faculty in small grains breeding. Applicants will be considered for the titles of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor, depending on experience and qualifications. This appointment will be 12 months, non-tenured, 100% research, and administratively located with the High Plains Research and Extension Center in Canyon, TX. This position includes an academic appointment with the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. The individual in this position is responsible for leadership, planning, resourcing, and conducting research in applied small grains breeding as a team member of the statewide Texas A&M AgriLife Small Grains Research and Extension Program (SGREP) to develop and release improved small grain cultivars adapted for High Plains small grains systems and other suitable areas. The SGREP is organized into two Centers of Excellence that conduct cultivar development, genetic studies, agronomic and pest-management research, and grain and forage quality studies in (primarily hard red winter) wheat, oat, and triticale. This position is located at the High Plains Center of Excellence in Canyon, TX, and targets the High and Rolling Plains of Texas. However, the incumbent will also work with the College Station Center of Excellence, which targets Central Texas, South Texas, and the Blacklands as well as conducts state-wide yield trials and nurseries on targeted diseases and insects.
Responsibilities:
The incumbent will:
(1) assemble, characterize, curate, and exchange hard red winter wheat (and, as appropriate, oat, triticale, and barley) germplasm;
(2) introgress novel sources of biotic- and abiotic-stress resistance and end-use quality from domestic and international collections;
(3) develop breeding populations and inbred lines adapted to target production environments and stakeholder priorities using appropriate approaches;
(4) deploy appropriate traditional, genomic, and phenomic breeding methods with the AgriLife Research Small Grains Geneticist;
(5) conduct small-plot yield trials across irrigated and dryland environments throughout the High Plains, Rolling Plains, and adjacent target regions; participating in regional and national nurseries;
(6) phenotype experimental lines for agronomic performance, disease and insect resistance, dual-purpose grazing tolerance, and grain- and forage-quality traits;
(7) integrate remote sensing, digital twinning, and phenotyping platforms into the program
(8) coordinate end-use grain-quality evaluation with qualified laboratories
(9) coordinate forage- and silage-quality evaluation in cooperation with livestock-systems collaborators;
(10) advance elite candidate lines through the AgriLife variety release process;
(11) prepare variety releases and licenses through Texas A&M Innovation, including coordination with prospective seed-industry licensees and post-release stewardship;
(12) publish cultivar registrations, germplasm releases, and research findings in refereed journals; and
(13) mentor and supervise graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and technical staff.
To accomplish these tasks, collaboration with AgriLife personnel throughout the state is expected, including Texas A&M AgriLife Foundation Seed in Vernon, TX, East Texas A&M University in Commerce, TX, and Research and faculty with expertise in entomology, plant pathology, plant physiology, soil-water-plant dynamics, forage production and systems, agronomy, irrigation water management, wheat genetics, environmental and soil sciences, ruminant nutrition (beef cattle and dairy) and sustainable livestock systems engineering. In addition, communication and feedback is essential to develop program priorities, and convey progress, and outcomes to stakeholders including farmers, the Texas Wheat Producers Board, the Texas Seed Trade Association, milling and baking companies, county extension agents, and allied national associations through field days, demonstration plots, written reports, and presentations. The program will maintain accurate, secure, and transferable records of pedigrees, plot data, seed inventories, and breeding decisions in standardized data-management systems and the breeding program is expected to develop elite varieties for licensure through Texas A&M Innovation.
Administrative Relationships:

• The appointee will report to the Center Director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research-High Plains, who will conduct an annual performance evaluation with participation by the Head of the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at Texas A&M University, College Station.
• Budgets, facilities, and operations for the program are administered by the Center Director.
• Promotion decisions are the prerogative of the Director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research and are managed through Texas A&M AgriLife Research and its Promotion Committee.
• Promotion processes and decisions will conform to the policies and procedures of the agency and the Texas A&M University System.
• The appointee will also be expected to pursue adjunct faculty status with the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences at West Texas A&M University.

Qualifications:
Required Job Qualifications

• Successful candidate must possess an earned Ph. D. in plant breeding or closely related discipline.
• Experience in experimental design, biometry, and statistical analysis of multi-environment trials, such as alpha-lattice and augmented designs, mixed-model and BLUP analyses, and genotype-by-environment interaction modeling.
• Knowledge of quantitative-genetic theory and its practical application to self-pollinated small-grain breeding programs.
• Proficient with statistical and breeding-informatics software, such as R, SAS, and ASReml, and breeding-management systems such as Field Book, AGROBASE, Genovix, or equivalent platforms for pedigree, plot, and seed-inventory tracking.
• Effective at planning and conducting field, greenhouse, and growth-chamber testing for agronomic, disease, insect, abiotic-stress, dual-purpose grazing, and end-use-quality traits.
• Excellence in verbal and written communication, including relevant publication records.
• Team-building skills, collaboration capacity, and project management abilities.
• Strong interpersonal communication skills.
• Organizational skills.
• Professional demeanor.
• Ability to multi-task and establish effective working relationships.
• Knowledge and understanding of the mission and role of the Land Grant University System.

Preferred Job Qualifications:

• Experience with molecular and genomic breeding tools, including marker-assisted selection, KASP and high-density genotyping platforms, genotyping-by-sequencing, genomic prediction, and the integration of genomic and phenotypic data into selection decisions.
• Experience operating, or directing the operation of UAS platforms equipped with RGB, multispectral, and thermal sensors, and processing the resulting imagery into orthomosaics, digital surface models, and vegetation indices for selection use; building, calibrating, and applying high-throughput phenotyping pipelines and digital-twin frameworks that integrate sensor, weather, soil, and genomic data to inform breeding decisions.
• Experience assessing end-use grain quality (milling yield, dough rheology, baking performance) and forage quality (fiber, digestibility, crude protein, palatability) in collaboration with appropriate analytical laboratories.
• Experience managing personnel, budgets, and projects across multiple field locations and disciplines; preparing competitive grant proposals to federal, state, commodity board, and industry sponsors.

Location and Facilities:
Headquarters: Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center (HPREC) on the campus of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX.
Area Served: Primarily serves the Texas High and Rolling Plains and adjacent regions in neighboring states; partners with scientists at Texas A&M and other universities, agencies, and neighboring states as appropriate.
Facilities: Current research facilities include an office in the HPREC in Canyon, TX, and plant growth greenhouses and growth chambers in Bushland, TX. Shares resources as appropriate with the wheat genetics program, including two walk-in growth chambers at HPREC, three workstations in the Porter Seed Storage and Processing Building, 4,500 ft2 of greenhouse space, and small-plot field research equipment and facilities. Where appropriate, scientific collaboration is expected with scientists at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Conservation & Production Research Laboratory at Bushland, TX, and with closely aligned faculty at Texas A&M University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and West Texas A&M University's Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.
Additional information about Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences is available at:
Texas A&M AgriLife Research: https://agriliferesearch.tamu.edu/
Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center, Canyon: Home - High Plains
Texas A&M University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences: Home - Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
Application Procedure:
Applications will only be accepted online.
Applicants must upload a

• Cover letter (two-page limit), please indicate the rank you wish to apply for.
• Curriculum vitae including a list of three references and their contact information within the CV.
• Vision statements of research and service (two-page limit).

To be given full consideration, please submit applications by June 30, 2026. The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified. The anticipated start date is September 1, 2026.
Questions regarding the application process should be directed to Mrs. Kathy Wingate at 806-677-5643 or Kathy.Wingate@ag.tamu.edu.
If you have any questions regarding this position, you may contact:
Dr. Craig Bednarz (Chair, Search Advisory Committee), Stan and Gerry Sigman Professor of Water Resources, 349 Happy State Bank Building, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX. 79016, phone 806/651-2699, craig.bednarz@ag.tamu.edu
What You Need to Know
Salary: Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate's qualifications.
Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?
When you choose to work for Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.
In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit package including the following:

• Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
• Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution's verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution's procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.
Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.