Research Engineer III

Job Title

Research Engineer III

Agency

Texas A&M Engineering

Department

Electrical Engineering

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

College Station, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

Who We Are: The advent of advanced instrumentation, detailed environmental data, and precision treatment capabilities in agriculture, provides new and compelling opportunities to apply Data Science to Agricultural Engineering. Texas A&M’s Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, the Department of Visualization, AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension, and the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science (TAMIDS) collaborate in a cross-disciplinary research program that integrates across foundations and practice by (i) using machine learning techniques to model the influence of plant genetics, the environment, and treatment factors on plant growth; (ii) developing algorithms that adaptively optimize treatment over the growing season to meet goals for yield and cost; and (iii) embodying these algorithms in decision support systems that can deliver practical recommendations for crop treatment based on available knowledge.

What We Want: We seek a Research Engineer III who can integrate vertically across machine learning and AI, high performance computing, and data management, to design and produce prototype expert systems which also incorporate interfaces to support user queries and visualization. The position should appeal to someone with a broad set of systems, computing, and Data Science skills who enjoys harnessing state-of-the-art analytic methods to have practical impact in agricultural practice. The initial focus of work concerns development of efficient schedules for crop irrigation, specifically to develop an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)-based crop monitoring system that models crop water use for irrigation scheduling and increased water use efficiency, based on UAS-derived phenotypic data and infield weather data.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and apply advanced data analytics and machine learning methods in agricultural and related domains. Develop models of spatial-temporal dependence of crop growth on treatments and environmental factors. Use tools and libraries for big data analytics including processing of imaging from UAS and geospatial data. Develop APIs for data retrieval and analytics in HPC and cloud-based computing Infrastructure. Develop web-based interfaces for control, query, and analytics reporting. Mentor and support student participation.
• Integrate data analytics, computational, and reporting functions in expert information systems. Work with interdisciplinary project team to specify system function and overall design. Develop and implement detailed plan and timeline for system development, including milestones for testing and evaluation of system modules.
• Write research articles and project reports. Document system design, functions and usage and develop training for users.
• Collaborate on preparation of proposals for further funding.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Science or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Education:

Appropriate PhD degree

Required Experience:

Four years of related experience

Preferred Experience: 

• Experience with applications of machine learning and AI in the built or natural environment, with experience related to agriculture a plus
• Experience working with data and systems throughout the data cycle: acquisition, storage and management, computation and analytics, query and reporting functions, interfaces and presentation
• Experience developing software and systems for large-scale data analytics in science, engineering, or business

Preferred special knowledge, skills and abilities: 

• Proficiency with common programming languages such as C, C++ and Python,
• Knowledge of common Data Science libraries in Python
• Knowledge of AI/ML frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Keras
• Knowledge of GIS and geospatial data systems
• Knowledge of computer vision and image processing
• Knowledge of data management and databases
• Knowledge of high-performance computational and cloud-based systems, tools and architectures
• Knowledge of methods for real-world data wrangling and cleaning
• Familiarity with design of web-based dashboards and user-interfaces
• Ability to cultivate and maintain professional working relationships with people of diverse backgrounds

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/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer committed to diversity.