Postdoctoral Research Associate (Aquatic Animal Nutrition)

Location: College Station, Texas, United States; work in the Aquaculture Research and Teaching Facility, laboratory, aquaculture facility, and outdoor research environments.

Company

Texas A&M AgriLife Research is part of Texas A&M AgriLife, an agriculture and life sciences research, education, extension, and service organization within The Texas A&M University System.

What you will do

• Develop and implement research projects in aquatic animal nutrition, feed formulation, feeding strategies, and fish health.
• Design controlled experiments and conduct feeding trials with fish and other aquatic organisms; prepare diets, collect samples, and perform laboratory analyses.
• Organize and analyze experimental data, interpret nutritional and physiological responses, and maintain reproducible research records.
• Prepare manuscripts, technical reports, conference presentations, and grant proposal materials.
• Mentor undergraduate and graduate students and coordinate research activities with investigators, laboratory personnel, and collaborators.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Aquaculture, Animal Nutrition, Fisheries Science, Animal Science, Biology, or a closely related discipline.
• Knowledge of experimental design, scientific research methods, statistical analysis, and aquatic animal nutrition, physiology, or health.
• Experience conducting laboratory or animal-based research.
• Ability to collect, analyze, interpret, and communicate scientific data and prepare scientific manuscripts, technical reports, or other research documents.
• Proficiency with word processing, spreadsheets, and statistical software.
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills; ability to work independently and with multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to manage multiple research activities and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work beyond normal business hours and on weekends when necessary, work under variable environmental conditions, perform moderate lifting of 21–50 lbs., and follow animal care, laboratory safety, and biosafety procedures.
• Ability to travel occasionally to research facilities, collaborator institutions, conferences, or field locations.
• Continued employment depends on ongoing grant or contract funding and satisfactory performance.
• Non-immigrant foreign nationals are prohibited by export control laws from performing the responsibilities; sponsorship is not available.

Nice to have

• Research emphasis in aquatic animal nutrition, fish physiology, aquatic animal health, or a related field.
• Experience with fish or aquatic-organism feeding trials, aquaculture feed formulation, feed ingredient evaluation, nutrient digestibility, or feed additive research.
• Experience with digestive enzyme, intestinal morphology, immune response, molecular biology, gene expression, or intestinal microbiome analyses.
• Proficiency in R, SAS, or comparable statistical software.
• Peer-reviewed publications and experience preparing research proposals or collaborating on externally funded projects.
• Experience mentoring undergraduate or graduate students.
• Familiarity with commercially important aquaculture species, including catfish, red drum, hybrid striped bass, largemouth bass, tilapia, or shrimp.
• Valid driver’s license.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time staff position with health, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance, with employer premium contributions.
• 12–15 paid holidays, up to 8 hours of sick leave per month, and at least 8 hours of vacation per month.
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
• Access to wellness initiatives, professional development, training, Aspire, and LinkedIn Learning.
• Research is conducted collaboratively with principal investigators, interdisciplinary teams, students, and external partners.

Hiring process

• Submit complete application data or a complete resume; incomplete applications may be rejected.
• Required documents: CV/resume, cover letter, list of references, and certifications or additional documentation if applicable.
• Employment is contingent on credential verification, a criminal history investigation, and other institutional checks.