Undergraduate Assistant, Oregon IPM Center Decision Support Hub Team

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR

JOB DETAILS
SALARY
SKILLS
Agricultural Management, Analysis Skills, Apple, Botany, Decision Support, Detail Oriented, Disease, Documentation, Documentation Models, Documentation Review, Entomology, Horticulture, Internet/Online Service, Microsoft Excel, Organizational Skills, Performance Modeling, Performance Testing, Pest Control, Plant Pathology, Scientific Publications, Secondary School, Spreadsheets, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Web Usability
LOCATION
Corvallis, OR
POSTED
15 days ago

Position Details

Position Information

Job Title Undergraduate Assistant, Oregon IPM Center Decision Support Hub Team Appointment Type Student Employee Job Location Corvallis Position Appointment Percent 100 Appointment Basis 12 Pay Method Hourly Pay Period 16th - 15th of the following month Pay Date Last working day of the month Remote or Hybrid option? Min Hourly Rate $15.05 (Standard); $14.05 (Non-Urban); $16.30 (Portland Metro) Max Hourly Rate $21.50 (Standard); $19.50 (Non-Urban); $22.00 (Portland Metro) Position Summary

This recruitment will be used to fill one part-time (a maximum of 24 hours per week during academic terms and a maximum of 40 hours per week during academic breaks) student technical assistant for the Ag Oregon IPM Center at Oregon State University (OSU).

This is a part time (~20 hrs per week) summer position supported by the Oregon Integrated Pest Management Center Link is external, Link opens in new window (Oregon IPM Center). The Oregon IPM Center produces and hosts multiple decision support tools that combine weather station data with process-based arthropod, plant, and disease models in an online service (USPest.org). These tools can support decision-making in agriculture and land management by estimating the timing of key events like pest emergence or crop flowering, as well as the geographic distribution of species of interest.

Models for major pests (e.g., codling moth, spongy moth), invasive species (emerald ash borer, Japanese beetle, spotted lanternfly), and plant diseases (boxwood blight, powdery mildew, apple scab) are among the decision support tools hosted on USPest.org.

We are seeking an undergraduate assistant to record model documentation and website usability issues. This position will support the efforts of our Decision Support Hub Team to update USPest.org, thereby enhancing real world impacts of the Oregon IPM Center's online decision support tools.

Transferable Skill Development

OSU is committed to ensuring students are prepared for success after graduation through intentional skill development as student employees. The competencies students develop while working at OSU are defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) as the essential skills employers seek in their hires. In this position, students learn and build vital career-readiness skills in the primary areas below:

Communication, Critical Thinking, Professionalism, Career & Self-Development

Position Duties

  • Review documentation for 140+ models of insect, crop, and disease phenology. Identify and record instances of missing information, errors, and out-of-date resources.
  • Document other website usability issues (organizational, technical, aesthetic).
  • Search scientific literature to identify recently published life tables, field studies, and degree-day models for species represented on USPest.org. Collect sources that can be used to update documentation, test performance, and revise models.

Minimum Qualifications

Full Employment Eligibility Requirements can be found here: https://hr.oregonstate.edu/student-employment-manual/500-employment-eligibility-requirements

  • Must be academically enrolled in a high school, community college, or university and pursuing a program or course of study

  • Must meet Academic Standing Requirements; students on academic suspension are not eligible for employment

  • Must meet the applicable minimal enrollment standard

  • High School student: Regularly enrolled in a high school or participating in a home-schooling program

  • Undergraduate and post-baccalaureate student: 6 credit hours per term

  • Undergraduate international student: 12 credit hours per term*

  • Graduate student officially admitted to Graduate School: 5 credit hours per term

  • Graduate international student officially admitted to Graduate School: 9 credit hours per term*

  • International students may be allowed to carry fewer hours than specified above and still be considered "full-time" by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A reduced course load is approved by the Office of International Services (OIS), and must be provided to the Student Employment Center.

Additional Required Qualifications

  • Detail-oriented, observant, and organized when completing repetitive computer-based tasks.
  • Proficiency with MS Excel, LibreOffice Calc, or similar spreadsheet software.
  • Experience employing search engines and databases to locate scientific sources relevant to a question of interest.

Preferred (Special) Qualifications

  • Ability to critically read and analyze scientific publications to evaluate their quality and relevance to project objectives.
  • Proficiency with citation management software (e.g., Zotero).
  • Prior coursework and/or research experience in entomology, plant pathology, botany, horticulture, or related fields.
  • Familiarity with degree-day models and principles of Integrated Pest Management.

Working Conditions / Work Schedule

Posting Detail Information

Posting Number P13213SE Number of Vacancies 1 Anticipated Appointment Begin Date 06/15/2026 Anticipated Appointment End Date Posting Date 05/26/2026 Full Consideration Date Closing Date 06/05/2026 Indicate how you intend to recruit for this search Competitive / Student - open to ALL qualified/eligible students Special Instructions to Applicants

When applying you will be required to attach the following electronic documents:

  1. A Resume/Vita

  2. A cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience have prepared you for this position

For additional information please contact: Silvia Rondon at silvia.rondon@oregonstate.edu

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability, protected veteran, and other protected status.

Note: All job offers are contingent upon Human Resources final approval.

OSU will conduct a review of the National Sex Offender Public website prior to hire.

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Documents Needed to Apply

Required Documents

  • Resume
  • Cover Letter

Optional Documents

About the Company

O

Oregon State University