Overview The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON, Inc.) is a nonprofit science corporation dedicated to understanding how changes in climate, land use and invasive species impact ecology. Currently under design is the NEON project - an observatory comprising more than 60 environmental and biological monitoring locations distributed throughout twenty domains across the United States, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. These observations and experiments will be monitored and controlled in real- time from our headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. The Terrestrial Observation System (TOS) within NEON will acquire field and laboratory data on a variety of taxa -- plants, birds, small mammals, ground beetles, mosquitoes, infectious disease, and microbes. Given the extensive data and information to be accumulated by NEON over its 30 year life cycle, the contributions of a quantitative ecologist and an individual with experience and expertise in QA/QC processes are many. Term: This will be a two year term assignment. Summary Working closely with NEON's TOS scientists, the incumbent will provide guidance and statistical analytical support in developing approaches to formulate ecological sampling designs and data analyses with particular emphasis on development of QA/QC plans, verification and validation of data streams, and quantifying and tracking uncertainty and error budgets. The ideal candidate will also have the capability to formulate approaches to scale biological observations from site to continental-scale and provide modeling in support of sampling designs and data synthesis and analysis. The incumbent will contribute to the development of novel methods as well as the application of these and existing methods to solve complex problems in NEON data products.
Location This position will be located at NEON Headquarters in Boulder, CO Essential Duties and Responsibilities • Develop, test and evaluate QA/QC plans applicable to a range of ecological field and laboratory data collection and analysis associated with NEON's terrestrial observation system (TOS) • Develop, test and assist in the implementation of statistical and modeling applications used by NEON science staff • Play a key leadership role in the formulation of statistical and modeling strategies and in development of integrated statistical analysis plans • Provide critical input to science designs, field protocol development, QA/QC plans and associated sampling designs • Conduct statistical analyses and modeling in collaboration with science staff • Collaborate with NEON Cyber-Infrastructure, Data Products and Science teams as well as external users • Provide training to users on specialized applications as needed • Participate in the development and approval of standardized documentation for these processes, following documentation standards Education MS or PhD (preferred) in biology, ecology, natural resources management or related field Required Experience • 3 or more years of experience as a quantitative ecologist • Demonstrated experience in development, evaluation and implementation of QA/QC plans for ecological / environmental monitoring • Demonstrated experience supporting biostatistical and ecological modeling tools and applications • Demonstrated record of achievement in the areas of quantitative ecology, ecological modeling and analysis and statistical applications in ecological investigations • Communication skills to effectively explain requirements, present solutions, and influence management or external sponsors in area of expertise • Demonstrated interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively with a wide range of scientific, technical, and management staff, stakeholders, and vendors • Knowledge of field biology protocols and practices • Scientific writing and review Preferred Experience • History of active engagement with the ecological and natural resources management community • Experience with large scale inventory and monitoring programs • Ability to coach, mentor and counsel employees with a wide range of experience, skills and interests on approaches in ecological modeling and statistics • Expertise with common statistical software packages (e.g., R); and proficiency with RDBMS-based (MySQL, Oracle) applications and database concepts and major programming languages (e.g. C/C+) and scripting languages (e.g. Python) • Experience negotiating and managing contracts and partnership agreements Skills and Abilities • Solid analytical and creative problem skills -- demonstrated ability to successfully apply experience and judgment to both short- and long-term challenges • Experience working in a collaborative scientific enterprise • Open to undertaking responsibilities beyond those associated with individually assigned projects • Ability to work independently and as part of an active science team • Problem solving skills such that experience, judgment, and creativity to both short and long-term challenges can be successfully applied • Self-starter who can create new opportunities, use novel methods, analyses and approaches to enable continental-scale research Documents Required to be submitted in order to be considered for the position include: Cover Letter, CV and 3 References APPLY at www.neoninc.org NEON Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, Minorities, Veterans and Disabled Persons are encouraged to apply.
