Research Associate or Research Scientist - Ag. Economics and Remote Sensing

• 536816
• Blacksburg, Virginia
• Agricultural & Applied Economics
• Teaching & Research Faculty
• Agriculture & Life Sciences

Job Description

The Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Virginia Tech, and in particular an interdisciplinary research team led by Dr. Elinor Benami, is seeking a highly motivated Research Associate or Scientist to join us in the Summer or Fall 2026. The position is annually renewable pending availability of continued funding. This is a single search for one research faculty position that may be filled at either rank, depending on the qualifications of the finalist candidate.

* Research Associate conducts research under supervision with more limited independent authority, contributes to manuscripts and reports under guidance, and is generally not eligible to serve as principal investigator.

* Research Scientist conducts independent research under general supervision, contributes significantly to project conceptualization and management, is expected to lead manuscripts and contribute to proposal and grant development, may supervise project personnel and research assistants, and is eligible to serve as principal investigator.

Our team works at the intersection of agricultural economics, remote sensing, and insurance and finance, with projects spanning how the use of Earth observation can inform agricultural index insurance design, premium ratings, and quantifying the private and public values of conservation agricultural practice adoption.

We are affiliated with NASA Harvest and collaborate with a wide range of academic, government, and practitioner partners, including USDA, the Gates Foundation, Microsoft AI for Good, and multiple public, private, and nongovernmental organizations. The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting the research efforts of our team using a variety of tools and methods. These will include preparing geospatial and administrative data for analysis, ap...