New York Botanical Garden · 9 hours ago
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Bronx, New York
Full-time
Hybrid
Mid, Senior Level
$65K/yr - $65K/yrNew York Botanical Garden is seeking a postdoctoral research associate to develop tools for mobilizing data in herbarium specimens for conservation action. The role involves designing and implementing a web-based AI tool to extract structured data from digitized herbarium images, aimed at supporting IUCN Red List assessments.
LifestyleNon ProfitTravel
Responsibilities
Design, develop, and implement a web-based AI tool that ingests digitized herbarium specimen images and outputs structured textual data to support IUCN Red List assessments
Develop, train, and evaluate computer vision and vision-language models for tasks such as specimen interpretation, trait extraction, label parsing, and metadata synthesis
Translate model outputs into structured specimen-level data and higher-level summaries aligned with IUCN Red List criteria (e.g., distribution, population trends, threats, and habitat information)
Collaborate with AI and conservation partners to define requirements, validate outputs, and ensure biological and conservation relevance
Design workflows to handle large-scale herbarium image datasets, including data preprocessing, quality control, and performance evaluation
Implement and maintain reproducible, well-documented codebases, following open science and best practices in research software development
Contribute to the deployment and maintenance of AI models and web services, ensuring usability, scalability, and accessibility for end users
Assess and document uncertainty, bias, and limitations of AI-generated outputs, particularly in conservation decision-making contexts
Prepare manuscripts, technical documentation, and/or project reports for peer-reviewed publication and stakeholder dissemination
Engage in a collaborative postdoctoral mentoring plan
Participate in NYBG Science activities and outreach related to the project
Qualification
Required
PhD in a relevant field (e.g., computer science, data science, bioinformatics, biodiversity informatics, ecology, botany, evolutionary biology, or a related discipline)
Demonstrated experience with computer vision and/or vision–language models, particularly for image analysis or multimodal data
Proficiency in Python and common ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX), as well as experience working with large datasets
Experience developing research software or analytical pipelines, including writing clear, well-documented, and reproducible code
Ability to translate technical outputs into usable scientific products, such as structured datasets, summaries, or decision-support tools
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across disciplinary boundaries (e.g., AI researchers, herbarium personnel, conservation scientists)
Demonstrated ability to work independently while contributing productively to a collaborative research environment
Company
New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden is New York City's premier botanical garden and a top NYC tourist attraction.
Founded in 1891
501-1000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
New York Botanical Garden has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (1)
2024 (5)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$1.21MKey Investors
Bezos Earth Fund
2025-10-23Grant
2025-05-21Grant· $0.05M
2014-01-01Grant· $1.16M
Leadership Team
Jennifer Bernstein
CEO and The William C. Steere Sr. President of The New York Botanical Gard
Emily Schwarz
Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
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2025-06-22
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