We are seeking to recruit an integral, long-term member of our team who  will contribute to environmental modeling and forecasting research  across  multiple funded projects. Following the mission of the Center, we seek a  team member who is excited to both create and apply innovative  environmental models and forecasts that provide actionable forecast  insights to guide decision-making and management. We  encourage applicants to visit our website (https://ecoforecast.centers.vt.edu)  to learn more about the Center, its mission and values, current  projects, and our highly collaborative, interdisciplinary research  team.

Specific responsibilities for the on-site position in Blacksburg, Virginia include: 1) developing ecological forecasts (especially for  lake and reservoir water quality) using a suite of models and datasets;  2) leading and co-authoring peer-reviewed publications,  presentations, and data products; 3) providing guidance and mentorship  to team members and supporting ongoing Center programs (including the  Macrosystems EDDIE educational program); and 4) serving in a leadership  role in the Center, which includes setting  priorities, engaging partners, preparing reports, and collaborating  with CEF co-directors and staff to apply for external funding. We would  be excited to recruit someone who could start soon in the New Year but  start date is flexible.

Required Qualifications
-Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Quantitative Ecology, Ecological  Statistics, Natural Resources, Environmental/Civil Engineering, or a  related field 
-Significant experience in publishing peer-reviewed journal articles, demonstrated by publication record 
-Significant quantitative research experience in ecosystem modeling,  environmental forecasting, and/or computational ecology, demonstrated by  publications and/or software development 
-Significant experience working in the R and/or Python programming  language, demonstrated by GitHub (or other code repository) portfolio
-Significant experience in environmental data analysis, demonstrated by publications and presentations
-Experience with collaborative coding, demonstrated by GitHub (or other code repository) activity
-Ability to work in interdisciplinary collaborative teams, demonstrated by previous team research experiences

Preferred Qualifications

-Postdoctoral research experience 
-Experience with water quality models, demonstrated by developing,  calibrating, and applying water quality models, especially for lakes and  reservoirs
-Experience publishing data and code products, demonstrated by authorship of published data and code
-Experience in data and forecast visualization, demonstrated by  development and dissemination of data and forecast visualizations
-Experience in mentoring and/or supervising 
-Experience working across computational platforms (e.g., command line, Docker, cloud computing and storage, RStudio, etc.)
 

Hiring Process
Review  of applications will begin on Monday, 22 December, with anticipated Zoom interviews being scheduled in early January. Funding for this  position is available for multiple years, pending satisfactory performance during an initial probationary period and subsequent annual performance reviews. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this position at this time.

If you have any questions, please email Cayelan Carey (cayelan@vt.edu) or Quinn Thomas (rqthomas@vt.edu).