Job Title
Associate Research Scientist - Agriculture Data Center Manager
Agency
Texas A&M Agrilife Research
Department
Corpus Christi
Proposed Minimum Salary
Commensurate
Job Location
Corpus Christi, Texas
Job Type
Staff
Job Description
About Texas A&M AgriLife
Texas A&M AgriLife is comprised of the following Texas A&M University System members:
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/)
Texas A&M AgriLife Research
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University (https://aglifesciences.tamu.edu/)
Texas A&M Forest Service
Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (https://tvmdl.tamu.edu/)
As the nation's largest most comprehensive agriculture program, Texas A&M AgriLife brings together a college and four state agencies focused on agriculture and life sciences within The Texas A&M University System. With over 5,000 employees and a presence in every county across the state, Texas A&M AgriLife is uniquely positioned to improve lives, environments and the Texas economy through education, research, extension and service.
Click here (https://agrilife.tamu.edu/) to learn more about how you can be a part of AgriLife and make a difference in the world!
Position Information
Texas A&M AgriLife Research at Corpus Christi, is seeking a highly motived Agriculture Data Center Manager to provide leadership in the development, operation, and strategic direction of a state-of-the-art agricultural data center. Ensure secure, reliable, and efficient management of large-scale agricultural datasets including remote sensing, IoT, soil and weather data, supporting research, innovation, and decision-making in digital agriculture. Interact with cross-disciplinary teams, guide infrastructure development, and position the data center as a critical resource for agricultural science and technology advancement.
Responsibilities:
Data Center Operations: Direct daily operations of the agriculture-focused data center to ensure uptime, scalability, and efficiency; Oversee installation, maintenance, and optimization of servers, storage, networking, and cloud resources; Manage high-performance computing and data pipelines tailored to agricultural applications; Lead the development and maintenance of a scalable data management platform capable of uploading, processing, visualizing, and disseminating agricultural data in standard formats to research partners and cooperators.
Data Management & Research Integration: Oversee integration of agricultural datasets, including UAV, robots, satellite, and field-based sensors; Develop advanced data workflows supporting AI/ML applications in crop and environmental modeling.
Security, Compliance & Risk Management: Ensure cybersecurity and compliance with institutional, state, and federal data policies; Develop and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
Strategic Leadership & Collaboration: Collaborate with faculty, researchers, IT professionals, external partners and stakeholders to advance digital agriculture infrastructure, Mentor and train staff, postdocs, and students in data management best practices.
Other job-related duties as required.
Required Qualifications:
Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, or a closely related field.
3 years progressively responsible experience with project oversight.
Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.
Preferred Qualifications:
Minimum 3-5 years of postdoctoral or professional experience managing data centers, high-performance computing, or agricultural data systems. Demonstrated leadership in developing data-driven research infrastructure, preferably in agricultural or environmental domains.
Technical expertise such as strong knowledge of server administration, distributed computing, and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud); Familiarity with geospatial, UAV, and sensor-based agricultural data formats; Working experience with mechanistic simulation models and data-driven modeling approaches for agricultural systems. Familiarity with the development of Digital Twin models and forecasting tools to support predictive analytics in agriculture.
Leadership & communication such as proven ability to lead cross-disciplinary teams and manage complex projects. Excellent written and oral communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences. Ability to align technical infrastructure with research and institutional goals.
Experience managing large-scale agricultural or environmental research data systems. Strong record of scholarly publications, grant leadership, and research collaboration in digital agriculture. Background in AI/ML applications for agriculture and sustainability. Preference will be given to candidates with a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering and at least three years of experience in the digital agriculture field.
Other Requirements:
This is a full-time position, on-site.
Requires occasional travel to research sites, conferences, and partner institutions.
What You Need to Know
Salary: Compensation for this position is commensurate based on the selected candidate's qualifications.
Why Work at Texas A&M AgriLife?
When you choose to work for Texas A&M AgriLife, you become part of an organization that is an established leader in agriculture and life sciences with a wide range of capabilities to meet the needs of our statewide, national, and international constituents.
In addition, Texas A&M AgriLife offers a comprehensive benefit package including the following:
Health, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance (https://www.tamus.edu/benefits/) with Texas A&M AgriLife contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
12-15 days of annual paid holidays
Up to eight hours of paid sick leave?and at least?eight hours of paid vacation each month
Automatic enrollment in the?Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Employee Wellness Initiative for Texas A&M AgriLife
Applicant Instructions
Applications received by Texas A&M AgriLife must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to prepopulate the online application.
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/Veterans/Disability Employer.
