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I am currently seeking one MSc student to join my research program at the University of Saskatchewan, with a start date in Fall 2025. The selected candidate will contribute to a multidisciplinary project focused on soil greenhouse gas emissions, soil health indicators, and their links to forage-based livestock systems under different management and climatic conditions.

Research Focus:

• Soil sampling and laboratory analysis
• Greenhouse gas measurements
• Assessment of soil health in forage–livestock systems
• Integration of soil–plant–animal data to evaluate ecosystem services

Ideal Candidate:

• Background in Animal Science, Agronomy, Soil Science, Environmental Science, or a related field
• Committed to working respectfully and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team
• Willingness to work both in the field and in the lab, sometimes under challenging conditions
• Basic knowledge in Statistics (including working with SAS and R) and Microsoft Package (Word, Excel, Power Point)
• Organized, proactive, and open to contributing to other ongoing research projects within the lab

Location: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK

Application deadline: July 4, 2025. To apply or inquire, contact me at flavia.vancleef@usask.ca with your CV, transcript, and a one-page statement of interest.

Primary Purpose: The Agronomic Crop Imaging Lab (ACI Lab) invites applications for a three-year postdoctoral fellowship (PDF) under its Research Grant Programs. The selected candidate will contribute to an ongoing research project focused on developing spatio-temporally explicit maps for either (1) N₂O emission risk levels, (2) crop yields across western Canada or other related projects. The research aims to leverage advanced remote sensing, geospatial big data analytics, and state-of-the-art artificial intelligence techniques, including machine and deep learning. 

Nature of Work: Combination of desk and fieldwork 

Accountabilities: The PDF will play a key role in connecting a dynamic team of soil and crop scientists, GIS specialists, remote sensing experts, and computer programmers. They will be responsible for data collection, developing data ETL pipelines, and implementing scalable workflows to support multiple research projects at large spatiotemporal scales. Prior experience collaborating across these disciplines will be a strong asset. 

Education: A Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Geography, Bioresources, Soil Science, Plant Science, Computer Science, or a related discipline. 

Licenses: A valid class 5 driver’s license is a necessity. 

Experience: The candidate should have extensive experience in handling big geospatial datasets, remote sensing, and quantitative research techniques. Strong communication and writing skills are essential. Additionally, the candidate must demonstrate the ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within a team. 

Skills: Expertise in varying disciplines, with strong proficiency in programming languages such as R and Python is required. Experience in big data analytics using time series analysis and spatial interpolation of landscape features in the Canadian Prairie would be considered an asset. 

To Apply: All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. The University of Saskatchewan is committed to the principles of employment equity. The University encourages applications from qualified Aboriginal people, persons with a disability, racially visible persons, and women. 

Interested applicants should send by email, any questions, a cover letter, a CV, and contact information for two references to: 

Prof. Steve Shirtliffe 

Subject: The ACI Lab PDF (Geodata Analytics for Precision Agriculture, PDF) 

Email: steve.shirtliffe@usask.ca 

Department: Plant Sciences 

Status: Term Employment 

Group: Post-Doctoral Fellows - PSAC 

Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 1.0 Salary Information: 

The starting salary will be commensurate with education and experience. 

Posted Date: 24/03/2025 

Closing Date: Until filled. 

Number of Openings: 1 Work Location: On Campus 

The University is committed to employment equity, diversity, and inclusion, and are proud to support career opportunities for Indigenous peoples to reflect the community we serve. We are dedicated to recruiting individuals who will enrich our work and learning environments. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. We are committed to providing accommodations to those with a disability or medical necessity. If you require an accommodation to participate in the recruitment process, please notify us and we will work together on the accommodation request. We continue to grow our partnerships with Indigenous communities across the province, nationally, and internationally and value the unique perspective that Indigenous employees provide to strengthen these relationships. Verification of Indigenous Membership/Citizenship at the University of Saskatchewan is led and determined by the deybwewin | taapwaywin | tapwewin: Indigenous Truth policy and Standing Committee in accordance with the processes developed to enact the policy. Successful candidates that assert Indigenous membership/citizenship will be asked to complete the verification process of Indigenous membership/citizenship with documentation. The University of Saskatchewan’s main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another. Together, we are uplifting Indigenization to a place of prominence at the University of Saskatchewan. 

Primary Purpose: The Pulse Crop Pathology and Lentil Breeding Programs at the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan require a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) immediately who will work as part of a research team on a research project focused on the introgression of anthracnose resistance from a crop wild relative into elite lentil cultivars.

Nature of Work: Reporting to the Program Leaders, the PDF’s responsibilities will include assisting with the development and execution of experiments to develop interspecific hybrids, optimize embryo rescue protocols for the target genotypes, contribute to the development of backcross-populations, the phenotyping of such populations and the applications of marker-assisted selection for foreground and background selection. The position also involves data analyses and reporting, supervision of junior technical support staff and graduate students, and liaison and coordination with other members of the team.

Accountabilities: The PDF will conduct inter- and intraspecific hybridization in lentil, optimize embryo rescue protocols and generate interspecific hybrids. They will conduct backcrossing complemented by marker-assisted selection and phenotyping for resistance to anthracnose under controlled conditions. They will collate, organize and analyze data, contribute to the preparation of progress reports, prepare manuscripts for publication in scientific manuscripts. They will also interact with an MSc student who is working on this project and be involved in the day-to-day research supervision.

Education: : The position requires a PhD degree no earlier than 2022 specializing in tissue culture and molecular and conventional plant breeding.

Licenses: Possession of valid class 5 driver’s license is an asset.

Experience: Experience with interspecific hybrids, embryo rescue, plant pathology, and the demonstrated ability to adapt quickly to a new work environment are assets. Research experience in laboratory, greenhouse/growth chamber is required, including marker-assisted selection and tissue culture.

Skills: The position requires a motivated, reliable and highly organized person able to work in a multi-disciplinary group environment and productively contribute to this time-sensitive project. Candidates must possess good oral and written communications skills in English and the ability to work both independently and in a team-based, collaborative environment. The candidate must possess a good working knowledge of safety procedures and protocols.

To Apply:
Interested applicants must include the following in their application: cover letter, curriculum vitae and three names with contact information for reference.

https://careers.usask.ca/

Primary Purpose: The Agronomic Crop Imaging Lab (ACI Lab), University of Saskatchewan invites applications for a three-year postdoctoral fellowship (PDF) under its Research Grant Programs. The selected candidate will contribute to a number of ongoing research projects.

Nature of Work: Combination of desk and fieldwork

Accountabilities: The PDF will play a key role in connecting a dynamic team of soil and crop scientists, GIS specialists, remote sensing experts, and computer programmers. They will be responsible for:

• Conducting fieldwork using UAVs (drones) to capture high-resolution imagery and environmental data
• Processing and analyzing large-scale remote sensing datasets from UAV, satellite, and ground-based sensors
• Leveraging artificial intelligence, e.g. machine learning, reinforcement learning to develop data-driven, space-time explicit precision agronomic solutions
• Utilizing high-performance computing (HPC) systems for large-scale geospatial data processing, model training, and validation
• Designing and managing scalable ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) pipelines to integrate multi-source, multimodal datasets
• Applying big-data analytic, including spatio-temporal modeling and deep learning techniques
• Collaborating with an interdisciplinary team of soil scientists, agronomists, and computer scientists
• Presenting research findings at national and international conferences and contributing to peer-reviewed publications
• Being part of the new Nutrien Centre for Digital and Sustainable Agriculture
  
  

Education: Ph.D. in Plant Science, Environmental Science, Soil Science, Geography, Bioresources, Computer Science, or related discipline

Licenses: A valid class 5 driver’s license is a necessity.

Experience: The candidate should have extensive experience in handling big geospatial datasets, remote sensing, and quantitative research techniques. Strong scientific communication and writing skills are essential. Additionally, the candidate must demonstrate the ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within a team.

Skills: Expertise in varying disciplines, with strong proficiency in programming languages such as R, Python or Javascript is required. Experience in big data analytics and deep learning using time series analysis and spatial interpolation of landscape features in the Canadian Prairie would be considered an asset.

To Apply:
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. The University of Saskatchewan is committed to the principles of employment equity. The University encourages applications from qualified Aboriginal people, persons with a disability, racially visible persons, and women.

Please send your curriculum vitae, cover letter, academic transcripts, degree certificate(s), and contact information for two referees to:

Dr. Kwabena Nketia
Subject: PDF Opportunities – Digital Ag
Email: Kwabena.nketia@usask.ca

Department: Plant Sciences
Location: Saskatoon
Employment Type: Term
Employment Group: Post-Doctoral Fellows - PSAC
Full Time Equivalent (FTE): 1.0
Salary Information: The starting salary will be commensurate with education and experience.
Posted Date: June 30, 2025
Closing Date: Until filled
Number of Openings: 1
Work Location: On Campus

The University is committed to employment equity, diversity, and inclusion, and are proud to support career opportunities for Indigenous peoples to reflect the community we serve. We are dedicated to recruiting individuals who will enrich our work and learning environments. We are committed to providing accommodations to those with a disability or medical necessity. If you require an accommodation to participate in the recruitment process, please notify us and we will work together on the accommodation request. We continue to grow our partnerships with Indigenous communities across the province, nationally, and internationally and value the unique perspective that Indigenous employees provide to strengthening these relationships. Verification of Indigenous Membership/Citizenship at the University of Saskatchewan is led and determined by the deybwewin | taapwaywin | tapwewin: Indigenous Truth policy and Standing Committee in accordance with the processes developed to enact the policy.Successful candidates that assert Indigenous membership/citizenship will be asked to complete the verification process of Indigenous membership/citizenship with documentation. The University of Saskatchewan’s main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another. Together, we are uplifting Indigenization to a place of prominence at the University of Saskatchewan.