Computational Research Technician: Near-term Ecological Forecasting Initiative
Are you finishing a Master’s or Bachelor's and possess computational skills? Are you looking to do something meaningful and challenging with your talents? The Near-term Ecological Forecasting Initiative <https://ecoforecast.org/nefi/> (NEFI) is looking to hire a technician to contribute to the development and automation of cutting-edge, societally-useful nature forecasts <https://theconversation.com/can-scientists-learn-to-make-nature-forecasts-just-as-we-forecast-the-weather-90822>. Tasks: Building on work being done in the PEcAn project <http://pecanproject.org/>, collaborate with a Boston University computer science graduate student to develop a generalized, containerized (Docker/Singularity) workflow for automating ecological forecasts Work with NEFI graduate students to apply this workflow to existing near-term forecasts: Ticks, tick-borne disease, and small mammal hosts; Harmful algal blooms and lake productivity; Soil microbiome; and Plant phenology. Build on work being done by PEcAn postdocs, who are developing a carbon cycle hindcast product, to develop a prototype near-term forecast for land surface carbon, water, and energy fluxes that would run through the NEFI workflow. Work with programmers on the Brown Dog <http://browndog.ncsa.illinois.edu/> project at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications on improving automated data ingest into this workflow. Qualifications: Applicants should have solid programming experience, familiarity with R, and the ability to work well both in teams and individually. Familiarity with container technologies (e.g. Docker, Singularity), Github, data management, and/or statistics is beneficial but not required; the ability to learn quickly and independently is essential. A degree or previous job experience in informatics, data science, computer science, statistics, or ecology/environmental science is preferred. Contract for 1 year with possibility of renewal contingent on performance and availability of funds. Position is located at Boston University. Preferred start summer 2018. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit a cover letter, CV, and contact information for 3 references to Dr. Michael Dietze (dietze at bu.edu), preferably by April 25. Boston University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
