Careers

Breeding Insight team members don protective clothing as they prepare to enter a salmon breeding facility.
BI Director Moira Sheehan (right) with BI Lead Developer Tim Parsons (left) at the USDA National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center in Franklin, Maine.

Breeding Insight is hiring!

Join us in the first large-scale public-sector effort to systematically apply genomic information to the breeding of specialty crops and animals. Our dynamic, multidisciplinary team of specialists at Cornell University is growing!

Current Opportunities

Science Team Positions

Phenomics Coordinator

The Breeding Insight Phenomics Coordinator will lead use-case development and specification to integrate breeding team phenotypic data collection with a software engineering team as a part of a national initiative to extend the application of genotypic information to routine development of specialty crops and animals. Breeding of specialty crops and animals has lagged behind the major crops and livestock, but these specialty species together have equal economic value to the major crops and provide lots of nutrition and flavor to diets.  One of the avenues for improving this situation is to accelerate breeding efforts by integrating the use of phenomics (trait analysis) with genomics and natural variation to increase the rate of genetic gain and create novel healthy, nutritious, and sustainable specialty crops and animals.

The Coordinator:

·         Coordinates with breeders at 5 breeding locations across the US (South Carolina, Oregon, West Virginia, New York, and Minnesota) to understand their breeding objectives, phenotyping needs, and manage project deliverables.

·         Work with PIs and breeders at USDA centers and universities to develop genomic breeding strategies, specify use-cases that clearly spell out the computational and interface requirements of the breeders, and form project plans to develop key capabilities and integrate Breeding Insight into the breeding programs.

·         Overall, combines these communications into a regular process coordinated with the development cycle implemented by the software team to ensure a well-defined roadmap of new methods and features.

·         In communication with breeders, designs and helps execute evaluation experiments and analyses of features introduced to the Breeding Insight on which follow-up requirement documents are based.

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Genomics Postdoctoral Associate

The successful researcher will work as part of the Breeding Insight program at Cornell University to collaborate with USDA-ARS breeders on a diversity of research projects across multiple breeding programs within USDA.

Primary responsibilities for this position include:

1) Analyzing whole-genome sequencing data and constructing databases of structural variants

2) Producing informative reports from large genotyping and phenotyping data that will assist breeders in breeding decision-making,

3) Applying genetic principles to enable interpretation of biological phenomena and provide information that guide strategies and optimize resources in specialty breeding programs

4) Preparing reports, manuscripts, and presentations of research results.

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Bioinformatics Postdoctoral Associate

The successful researcher will work as part of the Breeding Insight program at Cornell University to collaborate with USDA-ARS breeders on a diversity of research projects across multiple breeding programs within USDA.

 

We are looking to hire one researcher with a background in bioinformatics of genomic and/or phenomic data, and/or statistical genetics. Strong skills in scripting and command line coding are necessary, as are excellent written and verbal communication. Researchers with experience in human, animal, and other non-model organisms are especially encouraged to apply.

Primary responsibilities for this position include:

1) Applying genetic principles to enable interpretation of biological phenomena and provide information that guide strategies and optimize resources in specialty breeding programs.

2) Performing statistical analyses and extracting actionable interpretations from genotyping data.

3) Preparing reports, manuscripts, and presentations of research results.

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Phenomics Postdoctoral Associate

We are looking to hire one researcher with a background in bioinformatics of phenomic data. Strong skills in scripting and pipeline development are necessary, as are proven written and verbal communication skills. Researchers with experience in human, animal, and non-model organisms are especially encouraged to apply.

The successful researcher will work as part of the Breeding Insight program at Cornell University to collaborate with USDA-ARS breeders on a diversity of research projects across multiple breeding programs within USDA. Primary responsibilities for this position include:

  • Developing customized image analysis pipelines to extract quantitative phenotyping data for key breeding targets
  • Performing statistical analyses and extracting actionable interpretations from phenotyping data
  • Preparing reports, manuscripts, and presentations of research results.
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About Breeding Insight

Breeding Insight (BI) is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Agricultural Research Service (ARS) initiative hosted at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Our Mission

The Breeding Insight initiative was launched in 2018 to level the playing field in the genomics era, creating new opportunities for specialty breeders in assimilating tools, technologies, and methods to catalyze the routine and accessible use of genomic insights. We integrate phenomics (trait analysis), genomics (genotypic data), data management, and software tools to help breeders increase the rate of genetic gain and create more healthy, nutritious, and sustainable specialty crops and animals.

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