Research Associate - Digital Agriculture

About the role

The International Livestock Research Institute is seeking a Research Associate to support its Digital Agriculture initiatives. The role involves handling large climate and agricultural datasets, developing data‑driven tools, and collaborating with national partners to improve livestock‑related research.

Key responsibilities

• Support data ingestion, cleaning, and management of weather, soil, and agricultural datasets.
• Assist in analysis of climate data such as rainfall, temperature and forecasts.
• Contribute to development and maintenance of platforms such as AgDataHub.
• Assist in benchmarking and validation of forecast products.
• Develop Python scripts and workflows for data processing and analysis.
• Liaise with national partners including meteorological agencies and research institutions.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, AI/ML, Data Science or a related field.
• Minimum two years of relevant experience.
• Strong analytical and written communication skills in English; French is a plus.

Required skills

• Python programming.
• Version control with Git/GitHub.
• Linux/Unix command‑line environment.
• Deep learning techniques (e.g., CNNs) applied to geospatial or remote‑sensing data.
• Cloud computing on AWS.
• Experience with distributed data systems such as Apache Druid.