Assistant/Associate Professor - Decision Intelligence Specialist

This is a 9-month tenure-accruing position that will be 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) and 30% extension (Florida Cooperative Extension Service), available at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC), Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida. This assignment may change in accordance with the needs of the unit. Tenure will accrue in the Department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering.

About the role

The faculty member will actively seek contract and grant funding to support their program and engage in Extension activities in their program area. This position is part of a cohort of new hires for the GCREC Agricultural AI Institute that will focus on the advancement of applied artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture with an emphasis on automation and efficiency within specialty crop production.

This position advances the Institute's research mission by developing and applying next-generation decision intelligence methodologies that transform agricultural data into actionable management recommendations. The successful candidate will establish an internationally recognized research program focused on prescriptive AI for agriculture, integrating reinforcement learning, causal inference, optimization, and agentic AI systems to enable autonomous and human-centered decision making.

Responsibilities

• Conduct innovative research in decision-focused AI for agriculture.
• Develop reinforcement learning frameworks for adaptive farm management.
• Advance causal inference methods to improve decision making from observational and experimental data.
• Design agentic AI systems capable of planning, reasoning, and coordinating agricultural operations.
• Create prescriptive decision support systems for farm resource allocation, including labor, equipment, water, fertilizer, and crop protection inputs.
• Play a key role in technology transfer, translating advances in decision intelligence into practical tools and workflows with potential for adoption by producers, industry, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to develop user-centered decision support systems.
• Contribute to extension activities by training extension specialists and industry representatives on the use of decision support technologies and their integration into current production systems.
• Establish a strong, externally funded research program and promote research activity and leadership in professional societies.
• Publish research results in top scientific journals and collaborate with other faculty and research partners.
• Participate actively in undergraduate and graduate education by chairing and serving on graduate committees, supervising thesis, dissertation, and undergraduate research.
• Participate in professional development activities related to teaching and advising, and may teach courses and seminars.

Requirements

• A doctorate (foreign equivalent acceptable) in Engineering, Computer Science, Horticultural Sciences, or a closely related discipline.
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proven ability to participate in collaborative efforts and procurement of external funding.
• Experience with artificial intelligence, agentic AI, and/or experience with AI deployment in agricultural systems.
• Supportive of the mission of the University Land-Grant system and commitment to UF core values.

Preferred Qualifications

• Applied, interdisciplinary scientist with computer science experience.
• Experience with horticultural crops, design and deployment of software solutions, and mobile applications for agriculture.
• Familiarity with Python, C++, PyTorch/TensorFlow, agent-based modeling and simulation tools, edge AI platforms, and other relevant software.

About the organization

The University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) is a nationally recognized hub for interdisciplinary research, Extension, and graduate education supporting Florida's specialty crop industries. The Center is in Wimauma, approximately 35 minutes from downtown Tampa. GCREC is home to more than 20 faculty whose expertise spans artificial intelligence, automation, engineering, geomatics, horticulture, plant breeding, plant pathology, entomology, horticulture, natural resource management, and precision agriculture.

The center offers exceptional research infrastructure, including modern laboratories and offices, greenhouses, approximately 500 acres of research farm, and housing for up to 34 graduate students. This position will be housed in the new Agricultural AI Institute, a state-of-the-art research facility dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, and precision agriculture for specialty crop production.

The Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department is a unit in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida and consistently ranks in the top 5 Agricultural and Biological Engineering programs nationwide. The department emphasizes excellence in research, leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 56,000 students. UF is a member of The Association of American Universities.

Benefits

We offer exceptional benefits.