National Project Workforce-Research Associate - Oilseeds Pre-Breeding

About ICRISAT

ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organisation that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and Africa, working with partners around the world. Drylands cover about 45% of the world's land, are home to 2.3 billion people (one in three) and support 45–50% of the world's livestock. ICRISAT's vision is a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics. ICRISAT is headquartered in Patancheru, Hyderabad, India, with two regional hubs and eight country offices in Africa. For more information visit - www.icrisat.org

Role Purpose

ICRISAT seeks applications from dynamic and motivated professionals for the position of National Project Workforce - Research Associate (Oilseeds Pre-Breeding), to support the cluster of Genebank (Wide Hybridization) under the Global Research Program - Accelerated Crop Improvement. The incumbent will be responsible for multi-location disease screening, co-ordinating assembly development, gene discovery in groundnut, along with any additional tasks assigned by the Principal Investigator. The position is based at ICRISAT Headquarters, Patancheru, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and lead disease screening trials at key hot-spot locations across India; implement standardized phenotypic evaluation protocols and epidemiological scoring to identify resistant introgression lines under heavy disease pressure.
• Harvest untapped genetic diversity from crop wild relatives by executing wide crosses, cytogenetic characterizations, and introgression breeding to introgression of novel stem rot resistance genes absent in the cultivated gene pool.
• Supervision of bioinformatic analysis of a de novo genome assembly for synthetic genotype; investigate genome architecture, structural variations, and recombination dynamics in synthetics and derivative progenies.
• Integrate bioinformatic pipelines and genomic datasets to identify candidate genes conferring durable stem rot resistance; discover, validate, and deploy high-throughput molecular markers for downstream marker-assisted selection (MAS).
• Bridge classical plant breeding, cytogenetics, and computational genomics to transition validated, high-value pre-breeding lines and synthetic derivatives into national downstream breeding pipelines.
• Oversee overall project execution, including managing field and laboratory technical personnel, budget tracking, technical documentation, high-impact scientific publications, and resource mobilization to fulfil all project objectives.
• Participate in resource mobilization with groundnut research teams.
• Publish research findings in peer reviewed journals.
• Participate actively in project review and planning meetings and in reporting on progress.
• Collaborate with research staff and technicians within and from other clusters/disciplines per the project requirement.
• Execute experiments related to stem rot screening and gene discovery in adherence to the defined schedules and timeline and in compliance with the institute policies.
• Reporting and maintaining accurate and high-quality data files required to prepare project reports.
• Support the Principal Investigator in writing technical reports.
• Responsible for completing the assigned activities.

Essential Qualifications:

• The candidate should have a PhD in Genetics and Plant Breeding, with experience in legumes.
• Knowledge of the latest technologies applicable to pre-breeding, cyto-genetics, molecular biology, and genomics.
• Knowledge of wide hybridization, ploidy estimation, sequencing, Gene discovery and characterization and populations development and field-based experiments.
• Statistical skills, knowledge of electronic data collection, databases, data management and interpretation.
• Fluency in spoken and written English and excellent publication record in international peer-reviewed journals
• Experience with applied research related to innovations in legume pre-breeding would be an added advantage

Terms of Appointment

This is a contract role for 36 months (03 years). It may be renewed based on performance and the Institute’s continuing need for the position.

How to apply

The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified. Shortlisting will start from 15 November 2026. All applicants should apply with their latest resume, and the names and contact information of three references that are knowledgeable about their professional qualifications and work experience. All applications will be acknowledged; however, only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Applicants must be nationals of the country of assignment or possess a valid work permit and legal authorization to work in the country to be eligible to apply for this position.

ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing diversity and maintaining a progressive and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or whether they have a disability.