Quantitative Ecologist

Summary:
Dr. Diann Prosser’s Lab of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center is searching for a highly motivated and talented quantitative researcher or statistician to work on a suite of ecology, spatial modeling, and avian disease research. This position will consist primarily of quantitative modeling and statistical consulting focusing on animal movement analyses, wildlife disease prevalence and risk modeling, as well as distribution, forecasting and ensemble modeling. There may be opportunities to participate in field work, although this is not a focus of this position. The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center is a world-renowned research institution located within 30 minutes of Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.
Types of services required: Examples of potential working tasks include designing and/or performing analyses on a variety of datasets including wild bird satellite, GSM, and nanotag telemetry data; creating ensemble models to assess risk of zoonotic disease emergence from wild to domestic populations including avian influenza viruses; waterbird population modeling; and agent based modeling with wildlife disease applications. In addition to the main projects included in this position, the successful applicant will be asked to regularly consult on analytical methods for previously collected data as well as the design of new studies. Co-authorship on publications is encouraged. Proficiency in R is essential, with experience in ArcGIS being beneficial. The candidate must be willing to assist with various projects other than those mentioned above, as this lab works on a variety of topics.

Required expertise/skills:
The ideal candidate has a doctoral degree in Ecology, Wildlife Biology, Statistics, Natural Resources, GIS, Mathematics, or a related field. Experience with both frequentist and Bayesian methods is required, as is demonstrated proficiency with a wide breadth of analytical methods for ecological analyses. Candidates with Spatial, Movement Ecology, Forecasting, Machine Learning, Agent Based Modeling, and High Performance Computing experience is a plus. The candidate must be highly motivated and able to work independently, as well as have strong capacity to communicate well with the team.

Principal Duty Station: This position will be based at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708 and is contracted through Natural Systems Analysts, Inc. Start date is flexible depending on top candidate, however, January 2021 is desired. Given COVID-19 restrictions, some flexibility will be given to remote start date versus on-site. Salary is approximately $59K with benefits. The position is funded for 1 year with potential for 3-4 years depending on performance and fund availability.

How to apply: Send the following to Dr. Prosser’s Lab at pwrc_application@usgs.gov with “Quantitative Ecologist” in the Subject header: Cover letter, CV, writing sample, and 3 references in a SINGLE Word or PDF document titled with your last and first name (eg. DoeJohn.doc or SmithJane.pdf). Closing date is December 20, 2020; however, applications will be reviewed as received and the position will be filled as soon as a highly qualified candidate is identified.