Spatial Modeler/Quantitative Ecologist

Location

Silver Spring, MD | United States

Job description

CSS is seeking a highly qualified candidate for a Spatial Modeler/Quantitative Ecologist position on an interdisciplinary research team of contract and federal employees. The integrated research team will support the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Biogeography Branch (), which is a nationally recognized scientific research program that conducts spatial ecological analysis, statistical modeling, ecological forecasting, and predictive mapping to support marine ecosystem management, conservation, restoration and spatial planning. The candidate will be employed by CSS to work on site at the NOAA National Ocean Service in Silver Spring, MD.

We seek a candidate with demonstrated expertise using scientific programming languages (e.g., R, Python) to fit a variety of advanced spatial/spatiotemporal statistical models to ecological data - including both physical and biological aspects of marine and coastal ecosystems. The successful candidate will help conceive and implement solutions to large, complex spatial and spatiotemporal ecological modeling challenges in the context of a changing climate, such as modeling of species' distributions, marine wildlife survey data, and/or physical, oceanographic, and geological aspects of marine habitat. Examples of potential projects include spatial and spatiotemporal modeling of marine species; benthic, estuarine and coastal habitats; and marine ecosystem structure (e.g., connectivity, biodiversity) in a variety of US jurisdictions.

Core Responsibilities

• Provide statistical, computational, and analytical support for projects that use predictive models in conjunction with large ecological survey, habitat, and environmental databases, to provide spatially-explicit maps to address questions of climate change on marine management and conservation:

○ Design and implement spatial and spatiotemporal statistical models of marine species distributions (e.g., coral, fish, seabird, and marine mammal occurrence and abundance), marine habitat, and marine ecosystem properties in the context of a changing climate;

○ Develop and implement model selection, performance assessment, and validation;

○ Synthesize and interpret model outputs, including maps, in the context of applied management and conservation problems.

• Contribute to or lead peer-reviewed publications, presentations, and technical memoranda.
• Provide statistical guidance and scientific programming skills to team members.
• Travel to federal and state laboratories, academic institutions, and field missions as part of collaborative research projects (<10% of time).

Qualifications:

Minimum Requirements :

• Master's degree or equivalent experience in Quantitative Ecology, Applied Statistics, Geography, Oceanography, or similar highly quantitative field;
• High level of expertise executing spatially-explicit models in statistical software environments (e.g., R, Python) (a code sample may be requested to demonstrate proficiency);
• Demonstrated ability to independently identify, analyze, and solve complex spatial statistical modeling challenges, working with large data sets and computationally complex tasks;
• Demonstrated excellent written and oral scientific communication skills;
• Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, fast-paced, team-oriented, multi-project, multi-disciplinary environment;
• Must pass a background check, drug screen, and national agency check

Preferred Requirements

• Expert R programmer, with skills in at least one additional relevant language (Matlab, Python);
• At least 3 years of professional or academic experience in Quantitative Ecology, Applied Statistics, Geography, Oceanography, or a similar field
• Experience with a range of statistical modeling techniques;
• Knowledge of marine science and marine ecosystems;
• Experience analyzing marine ecological and/or habitat data;
• Experience with parallel and high-performance computing in cluster or cloud environments;
• Record of academic publication

CSS is predominantly a Federal Contractor and is subject to following the terms of Executive Orders. CSS requires all Employees (Direct, Indirect, government, state, and commercial), including employees working from home/remotely, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved exemption. Exceptions to the COVID-19 vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the CSS HR Department.

CSS is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer who provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or genetic information. In addition to federal law requirements, CSS complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

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