Postdoctoral Research Associate, Negaunee Collecti

at Chicago Botanic Garden in

Glencoe, Illinois, United States Job Description Title:

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Negaunee Collections (Pollinator eDNA)

Exemption Status:

Exempt Department:

Conservation Science / Plant and Pollinator Ecology Reports to: Director of Conservation Year-round, Full-time (two-year position, with the possibility of a one-year extension depending on grant funding)

Supervises:

Graduate students, research assistants, and volunteers (as needed) Year-Round Full-time employees of the Chicago Botanic Garden are eligible for the following

Benefits:

2026 A Guide to Your Benefits JP.pdf

Compensation Philosophy:

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, our compensation philosophy is rooted in our core values: Growth, Understanding, Resilience, and Trust through Transparency. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and appreciated. Our objective is to create compensation and growth opportunities for our employees that are highly competitive, internally equitable and transparent. The foundation of our efforts is a straightforward approach that can be easily communicated by managers with defined pay ranges for all positions. When posting job openings, we share the minimum salary up to the budgeted amount. The starting salary for new staff members is determined by considering the salary range assigned to the position and by reviewing the candidate's qualifications for the job as compared with job responsibilities. Prior work experience should be considered in determining the salary offer, provided that it is relevant to the job. Additional factors such as secondary language proficiency or advanced degrees that enhance performance may also be considered. A candidate's salary may exceed the minimum amount based on factors such as experience, additional skills (e.g., secondary language proficiency), or pertinent degrees that enhance the individual's contribution to the role but are not required. Opportunities for increased compensation are provided through referral bonuses, shift differentials, Thank You Pay, promotions, and periodic pay increases based on the Garden's overall performance and financial budgets. Our total compensation and benefits package is people centric. We prioritize employee wellness across three pillars: physical, mental, and financial. Our goal is to offer innovative total rewards that support continuous professional growth, personal development, and provide the flexibility needed to balance personal and professional commitments.

Position Overview:

This is a two-year position, with the possibility of a one-year extension depending on performance and funding, with an expected start date of October 2026. The person in this position will work with scientists at both the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Field Museum. The position combines two primary roles: supporting the curation and accessioning of insect collections from the Chicago Botanic Garden for long-term deposit at the Field Museum and leading the development and evaluation of eDNA-based approaches to study plant-pollinator interactions from biological collections. The postdoctoral research associate tasks will be twofold. The research associate will assist with the curation and organization of insect collections, with particular attention to micromoth species, helping prepare and transfer these materials to the Field Museum. In parallel, they will also lead a methods-driven research program to establish a flexible and scalable pipeline to reconstruct pollination networks using eDNA. This work will focus on one of two complementary strategies: (1) identifying plant species from pollen DNA recovered from insect specimens or other collections-based materials, or (2) identifying pollinator communities through insect DNA recovered from flowers and floral surfaces in living plant collections. Ultimately the project will depend on the researcher's preferences, expertise, and professional aspirations. A key objective of the position is to evaluate the strengths, limitations, and potential taxonomic biases of current metabarcoding approaches and to develop improved workflows (e.g., marker selection, target capture, and validation strategies) for major pollinator groups. The postdoctoral researcher will integrate molecular data with observational or experimental datasets to assess methodological accuracy and ecological inference. While integration of both approaches is encouraged, the position allows for deep exploration of a single pathway if logistical or analytical constraints limit scope. The role offers substantial flexibility to shape the research direction while contributing to broader institutional goals related to pollinator conservation, collections-based science, and methodological innovation. The postdoctoral research associate will collaborate with scientists working in ecology, molecular biology,... For full info follow application link. Equal Opportunity Employer of Minorities, Females, Protected Veterans, and Individual with Disabilities To view full details and how to apply, please login or create a Job Seeker account