Post-Doctoral Fellow, Sorghum Breeding (Internationally Recruited)

About the role

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) seeks a motivated post‑doctoral fellow to advance sorghum breeding across its ESA network. You will work closely with quantitative geneticists, breeders, and field teams to translate genomic insights into practical crossing decisions.

Key responsibilities

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to apply genomic and predictive analytics for crossing and population development.
• Support senior breeders in implementing recurrent and rapid‑cycle genomic selection across multiple locations.
• Coordinate multi‑location testing, site selection, trial deployment, and phenotyping.
• Manage trial data quality, harvest, and sample handling; work with biometricians on analysis.
• Integrate predictive breeding tools into routine pipelines and produce scientific publications, reports, and presentations.

Required profile

• PhD in Plant Breeding, Agronomy, or a closely related field obtained within the last five years or expected within six months.
• Experience in field‑based breeding research, multi‑environment trials, or sorghum breeding pipelines.
• Strong knowledge of genomic selection, breeding data systems, and quantitative genetics.
• Proven record of scientific publications and excellent English communication skills.

Required skills

• Genomic selection
• Breeding data systems
• Quantitative genetics
• Sparse testing
• RCGS (Rapid Cycle Genomic Selection)
• Predictive breeding
• Rapid generation advancement

What we offer

• Opportunity to work in a leading international research environment.
• Access to state‑of‑the‑art genomic and phenotyping platforms.
• Collaboration with world‑class scientists and partners across East and Southern Africa.