Duration: One year from hire date (potential contract extension depending on funding and performance evaluations)

Salary: $23.00 – $25.00/hr, dependent on qualifications

Benefits: Group health insurance program after 90 days of employment; full publication financial support for IERC scientific journal submissions; financial support for regional or national conference attendance for IERC research presentations; nine paid federal holidays per year

Deadline to Apply: April 19, 2021, 2359hrs PST

General Position Overview: IERC is searching for an Associate Ecologist who will assist in selected project management, data analysis, and writing duties to generate and prepare scientific data for peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, grant proposals, and project reports. This position’s primary focus will be to immerse into multiple large datasets, identify relevant areas of focus in the datasets, analyze the data, and draft manuscripts for peer review and publication. Relevant data sets for analysis and manuscript preparation include documentation and toxicology sample results from illegal cannabis cultivation sites, remote wildlife camera and scat genetic analysis datasets, GPS location and movement data from carnivores, mark-recapture data of Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs, mark-recapture data from prey populations, potential occupancy data from various wildlife species, and other smaller wildlife and abiotic sampling data sets.

The Associate Ecologist will also work closely with other IERC senior team members to assist in various project management tasks. The Associate Ecologist will work collaboratively with non-governmental, state, federal, and academic partners on selected research and project objectives. The Associate Ecologist will work independently and as part of a team to identify problems, develop proper courses of action, and conduct critical and sensitive scientific investigations and studies on current and ongoing datasets. At least two first-author publications are anticipated to result from these efforts, in addition to several co-authorships. Occasional field data collection efforts will be required to familiarize the Associate Ecologist with various current field projects. This position is an advanced level position in the IERC Ecologist series.

Integral Ecology Research Center (IERC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit scientific organization dedicated to performing ecological research to improve scientific knowledge and advance the management and conservation of wildlife species and their communities and overall ecosystem health and conservation.

Tasks include:

Office duties (80 – 90% time)

• Writing and Reporting: Write, edit, and lead on written documents, including scientific publications, reports, and grant proposals
• Data Analysis: Analyze and interpret scientific data to extract or identify key issues and draw conclusions using multiple applicable software packages (e.g., Access/ Excel/ ArcMap/ R/ MARK)
• Assist Project Managers: Assist in project management when needed in planning, development, evaluation, and budgeting to establish realistic timelines for project completion
• Grant and Project Design: Use sound scientific principles to design ecological research studies and identify and apply for funding support

Field duties (10 – 20% time)

• Data Collection: Collect environmental, regulatory, and scientific data and samples by following data collection procedures and protocols
• Assist with remote camera surveys, carnivore trapping and monitoring, vegetation and soil survey and sampling, other wildlife and environmental surveys
• Assist with documentation, reclamation, restoration duties on various habitat projects, including illegal cannabis cultivation sites on public and private lands
• Occasionally camp/ travel several nights with other IERC team members in remote field settings

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or higher in Biology, Wildlife, Natural Resources, Environmental Science, Biometry/ Statistics, or similar discipline
• Primary authorship on 1 or more peer-reviewed, scientific journal publications
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite (Excel, Word, Access, PowerPoint)
• Proficiency with geospatial analysis, mapping, and GPS technologies (e.g., ArcMap v10, Terrasync)
• Proficiency with statistical concepts and familiarity with software packages (e.g., R, SAS)
• Possession of a clean driving record and the ability to pass a background security clearance and drug test to work on federal projects
• Ability to work extended hours in remote and off-trail conditions in various environmental settings
• Ability to travel to project locations throughout CA and OR for overnight stays

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ph.D in Biology, Wildlife, Natural Resources, Environmental Science, Biometry/ Statistics, or similar discipline
• Advanced skill sets with MS Office Suite, statistical analysis with R-Studio and other habitat or population monitoring software, remote sensing/geospatial and deep learning recognition tools and models
• Primary authorship on 2 or more peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles (accepted or published)
• Ability to perform strenuous physical activity, hike long distances carrying up to 40 lbs.