APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
- CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
- CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
- If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click "Apply" and complete the application process for external applicants.
Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location.For additional information on remote work at Penn State, seeNotice to Out of State Applicants.
This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the termlengthdiscussed willbebasedonuniversityneed,performance,and/oravailabilityoffunding.
POSITION SPECIFICS Postdoctoral Scholar - Food Safety The Department of Food Science at The Pennsylvania State University seeks a Postdoctoral Scholar to support an interdisciplinary research program focused on food safety, microbial ecology, and pathogen survival in food and environmental systems. The Postdoctoral Scholar will conduct independent and collaborative research under the supervision of a faculty principal investigator and will contribute to the design, execution, analysis, and dissemination of research findings. The research program emphasizes:
Survival, viability, and inactivation of foodborne pathogens under food production, processing, and environmental conditions. Interactions between foodborne pathogens and microbial communities influencing persistence and resilience. Exposure assessment and quantitative modeling of pathogens in food and environmental matrices
Responsibilities Research and Scholarship
Design and conduct laboratory-based research examining the growth, survival, and inactivation of foodborne pathogens (e.g., Campylobacter, Salmonella, Bacillus cereus) under diverse environmental, processing, and microbiome-influenced conditions, including biofilm systems. Apply culture-based, molecular, and quantitative microbiology techniques, including microbial enrichment, enumeration, isolation, DNA extraction, and PCR-based analyses. Analyze experimental data using appropriate statistical and computational methods to support peer-reviewed publications. Develop and apply predictive microbiology and/or pathogen inactivation models based on experimental data. Conduct exposure assessment and quantitative microbial risk assessment using laboratory data and published literature. Lear, conduct or support bioinformatics analyses related to microbiome or genomic sequencing datasets, as applicable.
Publications, Presentations and Proposal Development
Lead and contribute to the preparation of manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed scientific journals. Contribute to the preparation of grant proposals, progress reports, and other research deliverables. Present research findings at local, national, and/or international meetings.
Mentorship and Collaboration
Provide guidance and mentoring to graduate and undergraduate researchers. Collaborate with faculty, postdocs, staff, and external research partners as part of interdisciplinary project teams.
Laboratory Operations
Ensure compliance with laboratory safety and biosafety protocols, including work with BSL2 microorganisms. Assist with operation and oversight of laboratory-scale equipment and shared research resources. Maintain organized and accurate research records in accordance with laboratory and University standards.
Required Qualifications
Ph.D. in Food Science, Microbiology, Food Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, or a closely related field (completed by start date). Demonstrated experience in microbial food safety research or closely related areas. Experience conducting microbiological laboratory work, including handling of BSL2 organisms. Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including experimental design, data analysis, and interpretation. Evidence of scholarly productivity, such as peer-reviewed publications or manuscripts in preparation. Effective written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a research team environment.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with predictive microbiology, microbial inactivation modeling, or quantitative microbial risk assessment. Familiarity with microbiome analysis and/or genomics. Experience with statistical or programming tools for data analysis.
Application Instructions Interested candidates should submit the following to the Penn State Job Posting Board:
For more information, contact Dr. Jasna Kovac (jzk303@psu.edu). BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.
BENEFITS Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.
For more detailed information, please visit ourBenefits Page. (Note: For Postdoctoral benefits, please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.) CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.
EEO IS THE LAW Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473. Federal Contractors Labor Law Poster PA State Labor Law Poster Penn State Policies Copyright Information Hotlines
|
The Pennsylvania State University
remote work
Apr 03, 2026