Junior research scientist on pesticide-free cropping systems

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INRAE presentation

INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, is a public research organization bringing together 12,000 employees across 272 units in 18 centers across France. As the world’s leading institute specializing in agriculture, food, and the environment, INRAE plays a key role in supporting the necessary transitions to address global challenges.

Faced with population growth, food security challenges, climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, INRAE is committed to developing scientific solutions and supporting the evolution of agricultural, food, and environmental practices.

INRAE is recruiting researchers by open competition and offering permanent position.

Work environment, missions and activities

The Agronomie joint research unit produces scientific methods and knowledge from local to global scale, which it combines with expert knowledge to assess environmental impacts and ecosystem services of current and alternative cropping systems. It supports stakeholders involved in changing agricultural practices. Its research contributes to the challenges of protecting biodiversity, regulating bioaggressors, reducing pesticide use and adapting farming systems to climate change. Within this research unit, your objective will be to analyze the functioning and co-design of prophylactic agroecological cropping systems that contribute to pesticide-free farming. These farming systems will need to be able to tolerate a range of pests and diseases, while at the same time favouring biological regulation. To this end, you will study the harmfulness of a range of pests in field crop systems, and characterize the effects of practices on the presence and functioning of their natural enemies. Your work will contribute to the design of prophylactic agroecological systems by producing knowledge within a framework of innovative, participative, and open co-design. It will concern more particularly designing indicators of harmfulness and biological regulation services. To achieve this, you will be able to draw on the frameworks and methods of participatory experimentation and design, and of innovative design developed within the Agronomie joint research unit and at INRAE. Within the unit, you will have access to old data and long-term experimental systems trials (low-input or pesticide-free cropping systems), and to networks of farmer-experimenters.

A valid driving licence is recommended to carry out agronomic monitoring in agricultural plots or farmer surveys. Frequent trips are to be expected, and experimental work outdoors accompanied by research technicians will also be frequent.

Training and skills

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent). Systems agronomists or agroecologists with experience of participatory design and evaluation would be highly appreciated. Candidates should have a good command of English (both written and spoken), and long-term international experience would also be desirable. Successful candidates who have not yet acquired this experience abroad will be required to do so after their probationary period (1st year). Fluency in French is strongly recommended for surveys on agricultural plots.

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from:

- 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

For international scientists: please visit your guide to facilitate your arrival and stay at INRAE. 

How to apply

1. I download the applicant guide Application guidelines CRCN 2025 pdf - 3.93 MB
2. I write down the profile number CR-2025-AGROECOSYSTEM-6
3. I apply GO