Responsibilities: The research technician will be based in the
Department of Biological Sciences at FSU in Tallahassee, Florida,
supervised by Dr. Andrew Rassweiler, but will also work closely with Dr.
Sarah Lester in FSU’s Department of Geography. The technician will help
support an exciting portfolio of projects focused on the topics of
marine biodiversity, coral reef resilience, ecological state change,
marine spatial planning, and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
Research in the lab is inherently interdisciplinary, focusing on
addressing fundamental questions in marine ecology, but also on applying
those insights to conservation and management. The position includes a
broad diversity of responsibilities and the ideal candidate is excited
to participate in a range of research activities.
The initial focus of the position will be on measuring marine
biodiversity as part of a multi-institution Marine Biodiversity
Observing Network project (http://sbc.marinebon.org/about/). For this
project, the technician will help to develop a tradeoff framework to
estimate costs and benefits of alternative sampling methods and guide
decisions about the design of future monitoring. The technician will
work with ecological data from diverse sources, and will participate in
the development of cutting-edge techniques for biodiversity monitoring.
In addition to this focal project, there will be opportunities to engage
in other research projects in the lab, including field work.
The research technician will be expected to:
– Assist with data acquisition, management, processing, and analysis of
large disparate datasets.
– Help with parameterizing and running simulation models.
– Conduct literature reviews and assist with preparing scientific
manuscripts and presentations, with the potential to be involved as a
co-author on papers.
– Assist with managing the lab, including purchasing supplies and
equipment, organizing the lab, coordinating lab logistics, and
recruiting and coordinating undergraduate research assistants.
– Participate in local marine fieldwork in coastal, intertidal and
possibly subtidal habitats.
Qualifications:
Required:
– Bachelors or Masters degree in Marine Science, Ecology, Environmental
Science, or related field.
– Strong quantitative and statistical skills and/or interest in
developing those skills
– Experience with programming or scripted analysis in programs such as
R, SAS, Matlab or similar.
– Strong skills in data acquisition and management.
– Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a team and
independently
– Strong initiative and problem-solving skills
Preferred (but not required): AAUS certification, experience operating
small boats, proficiency with GIS.
Terms: Ideally the position would start in September 2017, but start
date is flexible. Initial appointment would be for one year, with strong
potential for renewal contingent on performance. Salary commensurate
with experience.
How to apply: Apply by submitting a cover letter, CV, and names and
contact information for three professional references as a single PDF to
rasster.lab@gmail.com. Contact Dr. Andrew Rassweiler at
rassweiler@bio.fsu.edu with any questions. This position will remain
open until filled. Application review will begin on July 15, 2017,
although all applications received before August 1 will be considered.