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Job Details:

Position Title: Quantitative Geneticist

Location: Siloam Springs, AR

Travel: 0–10%

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Company Overview

Cobb‑Vantress is a global genetics improvement company and an industry leader in poultry breeding. Headquartered in the United States with operations in 10 countries across five continents, Cobb delivers superior poultry genetics that enhance robustness, production efficiency, and sustainability throughout the supply chain. Our vision — “Responsibly and efficiently feed the world”—drives our commitment to innovation, technology, and genetic progress.

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled and innovative Quantitative Geneticist to lead and contribute to the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of genetic evaluation models, breeding program design, selection indexes, and phenotype strategies. This role is essential for maximizing genetic gain and strengthening the competitive performance of Cobb products.

The successful candidate will work closely with members of the Quantitative Genetics team and collaborate across R&D, Operations, Data Science, and external research partners. This position offers the opportunity to contribute directly to the scientific and strategic advancement of Cobb’s breeding programs.

Desired Skillset & Areas of Responsibility

Genetic Evaluation & Modeling

• Develop, evaluate, and implement state‑of‑the‑art genetic and genomic evaluation models, including linear, Bayesian, and machine‑learning–based approaches.
• Optimize breeding goals, selection indexes, and trait definitions to maximize accuracy and long‑term genetic progress.

Breeding Program Design & Optimization

• Design, research, and deploy algorithms and strategies that improve breeding program efficiency, sustainability, and genetic gain.
• Contribute expertise to long‑term breeding program architecture, including simulation, scenario testing, and decision‑support analytics.

Data Science & Computational Tools

• Perform advanced data wrangling, processing, and computational analysis to support genetic evaluations and research projects.
• Support development and maintenance of robust pipelines for model deployment, genomic prediction, simulation, and imputation.

Scientific Leadership & Collaboration

• Stay current with scientific advancements in quantitative genetics, genomics, predictive modeling, and artificial intelligence.
• Lead and coordinate quantitative genetics projects to support companywide strategic objectives.
• Collaborate effectively with internal teams, external researchers, and business stakeholders.

Qualifications

Education

• PhD in Genetics, Genomics, Animal Breeding, or a closely related field (required).

Experience

• 8+ years of relevant quantitative genetics experience with demonstrated scientific and/or industry contributions (required).
• Experience in animal or agricultural breeding industries is beneficial.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency with computational tools used in genetics and breeding, such as Python, R, C++, BLUPF90, FImpute, genomic pipelines, and simulation tools.
• Capabilities in statistical modeling, algorithm development, and large‑scale data management.

Professional Skills

• Outstanding communication skills—both written and verbal.
• Strong interpersonal abilities, teamwork orientation, and independent problem‑solving.
• Demonstrated initiative, curiosity, and drive for innovation.

Relocation Assistance Eligible:

Work Shift:

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