Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Research Fellow in Agricultural Systems Assessment – University of Queensland, Australia
Quick Overview
The University of Queensland is hiring a Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Research Fellow in Agricultural Systems Assessment at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation. This is a full time, fixed term position for up to two years, based at the St Lucia campus in Brisbane.
The role sits inside SorGain, a research, development, and extension program co-funded by GRDC and UQ to improve Australian sorghum production. You will lead the day to day delivery of the Knowledge Integration, Grower Insight and Decision Frameworks work package. That means drawing together crop agronomy, adaptive research, stakeholder decision research, and advanced analytics to create practical outcomes for growers and industry.
This is not a pure field agronomy job, and it is not a pure data science job. It combines both. You will run evidence syntheses and meta analyses, integrate agronomic and survey data using statistical and machine learning methods, and lead qualitative research with growers, advisers, and industry representatives. Supervision of students and coordination of project activities are also part of the role.
Applications close on Sunday 25 October 2026 at 11:00 pm AEST. The job reference is R-68711.
Key Details
| Position | Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Research Fellow in Agricultural Systems Assessment |
| Organization | University of Queensland, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation |
| Location | St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, Australia |
| Program | SorGain, co-funded by GRDC and UQ |
| Qualification | PhD, or doctoral thesis submitted, in agronomy, crop science, farming systems, agricultural systems science, agricultural extension or innovation, decision science, or a closely related discipline with a substantial applied crop agronomy component |
| Salary | Academic Level A, $85,373 to $113,660 plus 17 percent super. Academic Level B, $119,463 to $141,545 plus 17 percent super |
| Appointment | Full time, fixed term for up to 2 years |
| Deadline | 25 October 2026, 11:00 pm AEST |
| Reference Number | R-68711 |
| Contact | Sudhir Yadav, sudhir.yadav@uq.edu.au |
About the Role and Organisation
The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation is a research institute within the University of Queensland. It works in partnership with industry to translate crop research into outcomes that respond to grower needs. The Centre for Crop Science, where this role sits, focuses on crop improvement, agronomy, and farming systems research.
The SorGain program is part of the Sorghum Strategic Alliance, a seven year collaboration between UQ and the Grains Research and Development Corporation. The alliance brings together expertise in genetics, breeding, and agronomy to improve sorghum productivity, resilience, and grain quality. Sorghum is a major summer cereal in Australia’s dryland broadacre systems, particularly in Queensland and northern New South Wales.
The work package you will lead is specifically about knowledge integration. The goal is to take agronomic evidence, grower insight, and decision research and turn them into practical decision support resources. That means working across disciplines and data types. Agronomic trial data, survey responses, qualitative interview material, and decision frameworks all feed into the same output.
The role is research focused, with supervision and service components. You will contribute to the development of Honours and Higher Degree by Research students, research assistants, and project staff. You will also coordinate project activities, milestones, risks, and reporting, and represent SorGain and QAAFI at scientific and industry forums.
Key Responsibilities
Research
- Conduct regional evidence syntheses and meta analyses of sorghum agronomy
- Integrate agronomic, survey, and decision data using qualitative, mixed method, statistical, and machine learning approaches
- Translate findings into transparent and practical decision support resources
- Lead stakeholder decision dynamics research with growers, advisers, and industry representatives
- Design and manage research involving interviews, focus groups, and participatory workshops
Supervision and Researcher Development
- Contribute to the supervision of Honours and Higher Degree by Research students
- Mentor research assistants and project staff
- Provide methodological advice and constructive feedback
- Support shared planning of research activities
Citizenship and Service
- Coordinate project activities, milestones, risks, and reporting
- Contribute to publications and funding proposals
- Represent SorGain and QAAFI at scientific and industry forums
- Support the priorities of the Centre for Crop Science
Travel and Engagement
- Undertake regular travel to sorghum growing regions of Queensland and New South Wales
- Engage with growers, advisers, industry, government, and research partners
- Maintain productive working relationships across stakeholder groups
Candidate Profile
Required:
- PhD, or doctoral thesis submitted, in agronomy, crop science, farming systems, agricultural systems science, agricultural extension or innovation, decision science, or a closely related discipline with a substantial applied crop agronomy component
- Demonstrated expertise in crop agronomy and broadacre farming systems
- Ability to interpret interactions among crop genotype, environment, management, operational constraints, and seasonal risk
- Experience in adaptive, participatory, or on farm research
- Experience designing and analysing qualitative or mixed method research involving growers, advisers, or other agricultural stakeholders
- Strong quantitative and computational skills, including R, Python, or equivalent software
- Experience in evidence synthesis, meta analysis, or integration of heterogeneous datasets
- Demonstrated ability to engage respectfully with growers, advisers, industry, government, and research partners
- Capacity to undertake regular travel to sorghum growing regions
- Emerging or established record of peer reviewed publications
Additional requirements for Level B:
- At least 3 years of independent and collaborative research beyond the doctoral project
- Experience leading significant research components and coordinating multidisciplinary contributors
- Evidence of contributions to postgraduate supervision, research training, funding proposals, or partnership development
Advantageous:
- Knowledge of sorghum or other summer cereal production in dryland broadacre systems
- Experience in field trials, on farm experimentation, farmer participatory research, survey methodologies, research ethics, monitoring and evaluation, relational databases, SQL, or AI supported decision support systems
What They Offer
| Benefit | Details |
|---|---|
| Position | Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Research Fellow |
| Organization | University of Queensland, QAAFI |
| Location | St Lucia Campus, Brisbane |
| Appointment | Full time, fixed term for up to 2 years |
| Salary Level A | $85,373 to $113,660 plus 17 percent super |
| Salary Level B | $119,463 to $141,545 plus 17 percent super |
| Parental Leave | Up to 26 weeks paid |
| Annual Leave Loading | 17.5 percent |
| Flexible Work | Available |
| Career Progression | Academic promotions process |
| Program | SorGain, Sorghum Strategic Alliance |
Application Tips
- Apply before 25 October 2026, 11:00 pm AEST. Applications received via email will not be accepted. Use the online portal.
- Upload a resume, cover letter, and responses to the About You section. The cover letter should address how your experience matches the role requirements.
- Address the Level A or Level B criteria clearly. If you are applying at Level B, show your postdoctoral research record and supervision experience.
- Highlight your mixed method experience. The role requires both quantitative and qualitative research skills. Most applicants will be stronger on one side, so show how you handle both.
- Demonstrate R or Python proficiency. Quantitative and computational skills are explicitly required. Mention specific projects where you used these tools.
- Show stakeholder engagement experience. Work with growers, advisers, or industry is central. Describe specific examples.
- Mention any sorghum or dryland cereal experience. It is advantageous, not required, but it strengthens your application.
- Confirm your work rights. You must maintain unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of the appointment. Employer sponsored work rights are not available.
- Contact Sudhir Yadav for role questions. Use talent@uq.edu.au for application inquiries, quoting reference R-68711.
Editor’s Analysis, What Makes This Opportunity Stand Out
Agricultural research roles often sit on one side of a divide. Pure agronomy or pure data science. This one deliberately sits across both, and that is the core of its interest.
The Knowledge Integration Focus
The work package is called Knowledge Integration, Grower Insight and Decision Frameworks. That name captures the role. The goal is not to generate new agronomic data alone, but to integrate existing evidence and stakeholder knowledge into decision support tools. That requires synthesis skills, not just experimental skills. It is a different kind of research challenge, and it is increasingly valued in agricultural systems work.
The Mixed Method Requirement
Qualitative and quantitative methods in the same role is unusual. The position asks for meta analysis and machine learning on one side, and interviews, focus groups, and participatory workshops on the other. Very few researchers are strong in both. If you are, you bring something rare. If you are stronger on one side, the role offers a chance to develop the other with support from the broader team.
The Industry Partnership
SorGain is co-funded by GRDC, the Grains Research and Development Corporation. That means the research has a direct line to industry priorities. GRDC funded work is expected to deliver practical outcomes for growers, not just publications. For a researcher who wants their work to have applied impact, that alignment matters.
The Sorghum Strategic Alliance
The seven year alliance between UQ and GRDC brings together genetics, breeding, and agronomy. Being part of that network gives access to collaborators, datasets, and industry contacts that would be harder to build independently. For an early career researcher, that network is a real asset.
The Salary and Conditions
Academic Level A starts at $85,373 and Level B goes up to $141,545, both with 17 percent superannuation. The package includes up to 26 weeks paid parental leave, 17.5 percent annual leave loading, and flexible working arrangements. These conditions are strong by international standards.
The Work Rights Requirement
This is the main constraint. You must maintain unrestricted work rights in Australia, and employer sponsored work rights are not available. That effectively limits the applicant pool to Australian citizens, permanent residents, and those with existing unrestricted visas. International applicants without existing work rights cannot be considered for this appointment.
The Trade Offs
The role is fixed term for up to two years, so it is not a permanent position. It requires regular travel to sorghum growing regions in Queensland and northern New South Wales, which means time away from Brisbane. The mixed method requirement means you will be stretched across disciplines, which can be demanding but also developmental.
The Bottom Line
For an early career researcher with a background in agronomy or farming systems who can handle both quantitative and qualitative methods, this is a strong postdoctoral opportunity with credible industry links and good conditions. The main filter is work rights. If you have them, and the fit is right, apply before 25 October 2026.
Apply Now
Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Research Fellow in Agricultural Systems Assessment
Contact for Role Enquiries: Sudhir Yadav, sudhir.yadav@uq.edu.au
Contact for Application Inquiries: talent@uq.edu.au
- Location: St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, Australia
- Appointment: Full time, fixed term for up to 2 years
- Deadline: 25 October 2026, 11:00 pm AEST
- Reference Number: R-68711
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the position? Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Research Fellow in Agricultural Systems Assessment at the University of Queensland.
- Where is the job located? St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, Australia.
- What is the qualification requirement? A PhD, or doctoral thesis submitted, in agronomy, crop science, farming systems, agricultural systems science, agricultural extension or innovation, decision science, or a closely related discipline.
- What is the salary? Level A is $85,373 to $113,660 plus 17 percent super. Level B is $119,463 to $141,545 plus 17 percent super.
- How long is the appointment? Full time, fixed term for up to 2 years.
- What is the deadline? 25 October 2026 at 11:00 pm AEST.
- What is the job reference number? R-68711.
- What research will I do? Lead the Knowledge Integration, Grower Insight and Decision Frameworks work package within the SorGain program, integrating agronomic, survey, and decision data into practical decision support resources.
- Do I need work rights in Australia? Yes, you must maintain unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of the appointment. Employer sponsored work rights are not available.
- What documents do I need to submit? A resume, cover letter, and responses to the About You section.
- Can I apply by email? No, applications received via email will not be accepted.
- Who can I contact for more information? Sudhir Yadav at sudhir.yadav@uq.edu.au for role questions, or talent@uq.edu.au for application inquiries.
Related Opportunities
- Postdoc in Digital Plant Phenotyping, University of Bern
- Postdoctoral Opportunity, Soil Microbial Ecology, University of Bologna
- Fully Funded PhD, Root Symbiotic Fungi Genomics, Earlham Institute UK
Add Agri Opportunities as a preferred source on Google to see latest agricultural academic job listings first.
My pleasure to find the call for Postdoctoral Research .
I am a coffee researcher with an extensive experience in Ethiopia. I did my PhD studies on eco-physiological aspects of forest coffee population in Ethiopia .
I’m higly motivated and keen to do postdoctoral research at your reputable university in Australia to upgrade, advance my capacity for meaningful global impacts.
Am I eligible to apply and work advanced coffee research ?
Thank you for your support and feedback .