Current Openings

Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences and Department of Forestry

Assistant Professor - Forest Pathologist
Application review begins: April 7, 2025

The Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences and the Department of Forestry, both in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University, invite applicants for an annual year (12-month) tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor rank with a focus on forest and urban forest pathology. The position will be a joint appointment in Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM) (70%) and Forestry (30%). 

This position includes extension (50%), research (35%), teaching (10%), and service (5%), focusing on pathogens affecting trees in forested and urban forest settings. Integrating research and extension activities will include working with multidisciplinary teams of researchers, extension educators, personnel from state and federal agencies, and private landowners. The successful candidate will advance our fundamental understanding of tree diseases and contribute to developing sustainable, long-term strategies to manage major forest pathogens affecting forested ecosystems and urban landscapes. 

For more information, see posting #1025560 on careers.msu.edu

Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences

Assistant Professor - Turfgrass
Applications close: March 28, 2025

The Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM) invites applications for a full time, fixed-term Assistant Professor, playing a key role in conducting research related to turfgrass management, teaching undergraduate turfgrass management courses, and advising and recruiting students in the Institute of Agricultural Technology (IAT) Golf and Sports and Commercial Turf Management Certificate Programs. There is funding for the successful candidate to conduct field studies providing data for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for the 2026 World Cup games. The successful candidate will have access to field, greenhouse, and laboratory facilities. MSU’s Hancock Turfgrass Research Center is a 56-acre field research facility adjacent to campus with state-of-the-art equipment and an attached laboratory.

For more information, see posting #1025592 on careers.msu.edu.

MSU Extension

Integrated Pest Management Extension Educator
Application deadline: February 24, 2025

As part of MSU Extension (MSUE) and the Agriculture and Agribusiness Institute (AABI), this position provides local as well as statewide leadership and educational programming expertise in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in tree fruit, primarily apples. This position will have statewide responsibilities and will collaborate across work teams, Institutes, and community groups, working with faculty, specialists, and educators for overall advancement of the needs of the Institute clientele. In this position, the Extension Educator will identify, design, implement, and evaluate research-based educational programs that meet current and projected outreach needs related to the needs of the apple and tree fruit industries. Through leadership, the successful candidate will be expected to be an effective communicator and ensure dissemination of research- based information through various methods, including multi-media, distance education technologies, social media, written articles, and in-person meetings, and will provide growers, processors, and agri-business professionals with the knowledge to profitably produce their crop, while minimizing environmental impact.

For more information, see posting #1017305 on careers.msu.edu. 

Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences

Assistant Professor – Joe Vargas Professorship in Turfgrass Pathology 
Application review begins: January 10, 2025

The Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM) invites applications for a full-time, 12-month tenure-system Assistant Professor with a 50% extension, 30% research, 15% teaching and 5% service assignment. The individual who holds the Joe Vargas Professorship will utilize innovative techniques to tackle pressing disease challenges for solutions that positively impact the field of turfgrass science. Funds from the endowment will allow the candidate to conduct research in the area of greatest promise rather than being constrained by a specific grant opportunity. The research the candidate conducts with resources from the endowment, along with the benefits of being a part of a large research institution, will catalyze additional grant and research support. The successful candidate is expected to develop a vigorous and nationally/internationally recognized extension, research, and teaching program in turfgrass pathology collaborating with faculty within, and outside of, the turfgrass discipline. 

The position is anticipated to start August 16, 2025. For more information, see posting #1006264 on careers.msu.edu. 

W.K. Kellogg Biological Station

Director
Application review begins: January 21, 2025

Michigan State University seeks a resident Director for the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) to provide leadership and promote a creative environment that fosters innovation and excellence in the Station's research, education, and outreach programs in ecology, evolution, agriculture, and conservation biology. The Director provides visionary leadership for KBS research, education, and outreach programs and is expected to maintain and enhance a creative and productive environment for faculty, students, and both academic and non-academic staff. The Director serves as the principal representative of KBS with authority and responsibility for administrative decisions. The Director reports directly to the Deans of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Natural Science at MSU. This is an administrative leadership position with opportunities and support to continue a research or outreach program and/or engage in teaching.

The position is expected to be filled beginning August 2025. For more information, see posting #1006582 on careers.msu.edu. 

W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor
Application review begins: February 7, 2025

The W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) and the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM) invite applications for a full-time, tenure-system faculty position in ecosystem ecology, with a 75% research, 15% teaching, and 10% service assignment. Applicants should have expertise in terrestrial ecosystem ecology, with interests and experience in agricultural systems and landscapes. The position will underpin the continued success and growth of fundamental research in agricultural ecology at KBS and PSM. 

The successful candidate will have many collaborative opportunities in long-term agroecosystem experiments, including the KBS Long Term Ecological Research site (LTER), the KBS Long Term Agroecosystem Research site (LTAR), and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). The position start date is anticipated to be August 15, 2025. For more information, see posting #1009483 on careers.msu.edu.

Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences and Department of Horticulture

Assistant Professor
Application review begins: November 30, 2024

The Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM) and Department of Horticulture invite applications for a full-time, 12-month tenure-system Assistant Professor with 60% research and 40% extension assignment. The position start date is anticipated to be April 1, 2025. This position is part of the new Agricultural Climate Resiliency Program, a partnership among MSU, the Plant Coalition, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development aimed at developing solutions to long-term climate- and water related problems. 

The position focuses on filling knowledge gaps in life cycle assessment of agricultural, landscape systems, and/or the built environment by conducting innovative hypothesis-driven research and extension through quantifying environmental impacts, especially climate change across multiple scales. The research will evaluate the impact of weather, soil, and agricultural practices across the diversity of Michigan agricultural commodities and landscapes. The position will develop a forward-thinking extension program and lead the development of educational materials, tools, and presentations to inform and advise farmers, extension educators, industry advisors, governmental and elected officials. Applicants that leverage machine learning, neural networks and/or artificial intelligence approaches are encouraged to apply. For more information, see posting #991734 on careers.msu.edu. 

Department of Entomology

Assistant Professor – Aginformatics Entomology
Application review begins: July 1, 2024

The Department of Entomology at Michigan State University is accepting applications for a full-time, 12-month tenure-system Assistant Professor position with a 60% Research/40% Extension appointment. The successful applicant will develop and deliver data-driven integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for crop systems. Plant agriculture stakeholders urgently need arthropod management strategies that address resilience in the face of climate change, invasive species and other disrupting forces and we envision this position leveraging large datasets and experimental approaches to enhance productivity, biodiversity, and ecological functions of crop production systems across the Great Lakes region. This position is part of the new Agricultural Climate Resiliency Program, a partnership among MSU, the Plant Coalition, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development aimed at developing solutions to long-term climate- and water-related problems. As part of this program, MSU has launched an extensive cluster hire process to attract expertise in critical areas of research and outreach necessary to address such grand challenges.

The successful candidate will develop a research program that integrates investigation of arthropod biology and ecology with new and emerging technologies to model insect population dynamics, pest risk, and to develop novel management strategies. We are particularly interested in candidates with experience in big data, machine learning, real-time remote sensing, robotic or UAV technologies, artificial intelligence, or other innovative analytical/technological tools to advance pest management systems. Training and mentoring of students at the interface between data science and pest management is expected. For more information, visit the posting on careers.msu.edu.

MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory

Director
Application review begins: August 15, 2024

The MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) invites applications for the Director position. The PRL Director will maintain an active research program related to the study of photosynthetic organisms, participate in the formulation and implementation of collaborative research activities, provide scientific leadership, actively foster a unified community, and oversee the administration of the PRL. Preference will be given to individuals who will support training in and nourish interdisciplinary approaches that address fundamental biological questions relevant to energy capture, conversion, deposition and use in photosynthetic organisms in natural or engineered systems, interpreted broadly. For more information, see posting #950632 on careers.msu.edu.  

Department of Plant Biology

Assistant/Associate Professor
Application review begins: November 1, 2024

The Department of Plant Biology invites applications for several Assistant or Associate Professor faculty positions. Ideal candidates will be focused on gaining mechanistic understanding of cellular and molecular processes of plants or other photosynthetic organisms using biochemical, cell biological, computational, genetic, genomic, and/or other state-of-the-art approaches. Researchers using artificial intelligence based computational approaches are specially encouraged to apply. Ideal candidates will develop a multidisciplinary research program that complements the department's goal to address fundamental biological questions about photosynthetic organisms at all scales. For more information, see posting #988714 on careers.msu.edu. 

MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory

Assistant/Associate Professor
Application review begins: November 4, 2024

The MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) invites applications for a full time, Assistant/Associate Professor position. Candidates with a focus on relevant research areas, including but not limited to mechanisms and regulation of photosynthetic light reactions, light capture and energy dissipation, electron transport reactions, primary metabolism and carbon allocation, development, organelle biogenesis/biology, biotic and abiotic stress, or integration of growth and environment. Individuals are expected to employ state-of-the art approaches, which may include but are not limited to advanced spectroscopic tools, molecular and structural biology, cell biology, genetics and genomics, metabolomics, synthetic biology, phenomics, or predictive modeling. For more information, see posting #983763 on careers.msu.edu. 

Positions pending or filled

Plant Resilience Institute
Multiple Postings for Assistant/Associate/Full Professors
Application review begins: February 2, 2024

The Plant Resilience Institute of Michigan State University invites applications for multiple faculty positions at a tenure-track Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor level from individuals using innovative laboratory, computational, or field experimental approaches to study plant responses to the environment. Candidates for the Assistant Professor positions will be evaluated separately from those for the Associate/Full Professor positions. The successful applicants can work across any scales or systems within the plant sciences, with a research focus on abiotic and biotic constraints relevant to plant resilience against the changing climate. Responsibilities also include undergraduate and/or graduate teaching (to be determined based on departmental need and candidate strengths) and participation in both undergraduate and graduate training. The posting for these positions can be found on careers.msu.edu.

Department of Forestry
Assistant Professor – Silviculture / Applied Forest Ecology
Application due: December 1, 2023

The Department of Forestry invites applications for a full-time, 9-month tenure track Assistant Professor with a 40% research, 30% teaching, 20% Extension and 10% service assignment. Candidates with a focus on silviculture or applied forest ecology focused on managing forests for adaptation to climate and other environmental stresses and for mitigation of climate change, including improved forest health, productivity, hydrology and resilience are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will be expected to develop an internationally recognized research program that informs management of northern forests with a focus on Great Lakes ecosystems and co-creates research questions with natural resource management agencies and landowners, particularly continuing and/or initiating new collaborative research projects with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). For more information about the position, review the posting on the Department of Forestry website.

Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Assistant Professor – Dry Bean Breeder
Application due: October 1, 2023

The Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences invites applications for a full-time, 12-month tenure track Assistant Professor with an 85% research, 15% teaching appointment. Research responsibilities will include fundamental and applied research in the area of dry bean breeding and genetics, with a focus on the development of improved varieties of multiple dry bean market classes to improve yield, disease resistance, canning quality, nitrogen use efficiency and abiotic stress resistance. Fundamental research will focus on genomics; molecular, cellular, physiological or population genetics; genetics of disease resistance; or quantitative genetic theory. For more information, visit the position posting on the Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences website. 

Learn more about:

Dual Career Support
Work/Life Balance
Institutional Diversity and Inclusion

→ Search for more academic openings at Careers@MSU.