Job Information
Washington State University Agricultural Research Technologist 3 in Mount Vernon, Washington
Agricultural Research Technologist 3
Available Title(s):
570G-YNCSNPS - Agricultural Research Technologist 3
Business Title:
Agricultural Research Technologist 3
Employee Type:
Classified
Time Type:
Full time
Position Term:
12 Month
Position Details:
Summary of Duties:
Assist with the design, set-up, maintenance, and completion of field, laboratory, and greenhouse research and extension trials, both at the NWREC and off-station, for the Vegetable Seed Pathology Program at the WSU Mount Vernon NWREC. Due to the environment in which the person in this position will be working, the person must be willing to work outdoors under a range of weather conditions, and with a diversity of crops, plant pathogens, arthropod pests, and natural enemies. The person must be willing to travel to field trial sites in Washington, including in central Washington, and occasionally in cooperative sites in other states, with overnight stays. The person must be willing to work in conventional and organic agricultural production systems. The person must be willing to work with or in the vicinity of lab and agricultural chemicals for which appropriate safety measures, equipment, and training are provided.
Laboratory duties | 30%
• Operate, calibrate, and maintain plant pathology laboratory equipment and instruments (including autoclaves, balances, centrifuges, electrophoresis units, incubators, laminar flow hoods, biological safety cabinets, dissecting and compound microscopes, pH meters, water baths, regular and real-time PCR thermal cyclers, and various other molecular and classical plant pathology lab equipment).
• Work with diverse bacterial, fungal, viral, and nematode pathogens of vegetable and vegetable seed crops grown in the Pacific Northwest. Use relevant techniques for isolation, culture, and inoculation of plants.
• Follow all Standard Operating Procedures and policies to maintain relevant laboratory permits (e.g., USDA APHIS PPQ 526 permits for receiving specific domestic and international shipments of plant pathogen cultures/plant samples).
• Perform microscope-based identification of fungal plant pathogens, characterization of biological and physical attributes of fungal and bacterial plant pathogens, and perform molecular procedures, such as PCR and quantitative PCR assays, genotyping using microsatellite markers, analyzing DNA sequence data, and performing DNA and RNA extractions in a research setting.
• Maintain culture collections and regulatory permits related to the culture collections.
• Maintain cleanliness and safety of laboratories.
• Follow established safe handling procedures when working with chemicals and equipment.
Greenhouse and field duties | 25%
• Apply pesticides (fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides) in field and greenhouse environments, and calibrate and maintain sprayers. Drive tractor and operate general farm and greenhouse research equipment; calibrate seeders and drills, irrigation equipment, and fertilizer injection systems.
• Install, use, and maintain dataloggers and spore traps for monitoring micro-environmental conditions and dispersal of plant pathogens, respectively, in relation to development of diseases affecting vegetable/seed crops.
• Use relevant horticultural and plant pathology techniques for effective maintenance of plants/trials, inoculation of plant pathogens, monitoring and assessment of plant diseases, and data collec