Vineyard Decision Support

This position supports development of an early prototype for a vineyard decision-support platform. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research team combining optical sensing, environmental modeling, and artificial intelligence. The goal is to build and test a correlative model that integrates vineyard data—evapotranspiration (ET) estimates, weather, phenology observations, and historical records—to provide actionable insights and decision support for vineyard management.

The position is part-time during the academic year (5  hrs/week), with the possibility of increased hours over the  summer, contingent on progress and timing..

Please highlight in your application any past experience modeling large scale data sets. Please highlight how your skills align with the required and preferred list given below.

Job Duties:

Develop and test data-integration pipelines for vineyard datasets – 25%

Build correlative/ML models linking ET, weather, and field data to management outcomes – 25%

Design an AI “interrogative layer” (chat/agent interface) that can answer questions and issue alerts with confidence scores – 25%

Collaborate with project leads to test and visualize model outputs (text and graphics) – 25%

Required Skills:

Proficiency in Python (Pandas, scikit-learn, or PyTorch).

Experience handling structured datasets and API integration.

Strong ability to work independently and document code.

Good communication skills for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Preferred Skills:

Experience with LLM frameworks (LangChain, OpenAI API, or similar).

Familiarity with time-series or environmental data modeling.

Interest in agricultural, environmental, or climate data applications.

Experience with dashboard or visualization tools (Plotly, Dash, Streamlit).

Knowledge of vineyard data and/or vineyard management

Work Location: UC Santa Cruz campus 

Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer. 

   • “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC’s policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

       • UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

       • UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

       • Abusive Conduct in the Workplace