In this role, Dr Taylor will help drive innovation across multiple areas, including health, agriculture, biosecurity and manufacturing.
On announcing the appointment, CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Doug Hilton said Dr Taylor had an impressive track record of leading multi-disciplinary teams to deliver innovation across a broad spectrum of agricultural research.
"Jen is a dynamic and inspiring leader with two decades of experience driving innovation across Australia's agriculture sector.
"As part of CSIRO's Executive Team, she will play a pivotal role in reshaping our research portfolio to ensure we’re delivering maximum benefit to the Australian community."
Dr Taylor said she was delighted to be stepping into the role.
"Since joining CSIRO I have felt a strong connection to its purpose to use science and technology to build a great future for Australia and its industries.
"I have seen the rich expertise and tireless dedication of CSIRO people to this task, and it is an immense privilege to work alongside them.
"I am looking forward to growing the ambition of our portfolio to ensure we are helping secure Australia's future prosperity."
Dr Taylor joined CSIRO in 2008. Over that time, she has led research teams across CSIRO's agriculture portfolio, helping drive innovation in various areas including crop genomics, genetics and agricultural field data science.
Since 2020 Dr Taylor has been Deputy Director of CSIRO's Agriculture & Food research unit, spearheading digital transformation and developing innovation strategy and building industry partnerships. More recently she has acted in the role of Director for Agriculture & Food for a period of 14 months.
