Job Ad

Position type: Student Contract, USGS Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, CO.

Title: Student Contractor — Quantitative Ecologist.

Pay and schedule: ~21 to ~$51  hour depending on academic experience. Up to 40 hrs/week during the summer; flexible ~20 hrs/week during the academic year (or as eligible/available). Appointment is temporary with defined start/end dates and deliverables aligned to an awarded project timeline.

Job Description: We are a team of scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey conducting research on land change dynamics and effects on US national natural resources. In particular in the fields of 1) urban forest ecology, which includes 1a) modeling urban forest times series with increased accuracy from 1985 to present day, building on methods from Corro et al (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-04816-0); and 1b) expanding applications of an urban heat model focused on human health impacts (https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2752-5309/ae4bfc); or the field of 2) monarch migration analysis, which includes 2a) comparative analysis on tagged monarch movement data from the 1990’s-2000’s with modern monarch movement data from Bluetooth enabled monarch tags; 2b) model gridded climate data to identify times and locations of extreme heat and drought which could act as monarch movement barriers. You will be hired as a student contractor with a fixed period of performance and will complete required onboarding steps (e.g., background check and documentation of eligibility) prior to start. The position will remain open until filled. Modeling and computational work could be completed either at the USGS Science Center offices, or at the student home institution.

We seek candidates who are well organized, careful with documentation, and comfortable delivering work products to clear specifications. Candidates for all positions should have experience in computational modeling with strong programming skills (Python and/or R, GEE), familiarity with reproducible workflows and geospatial data, and the ability to write maintainable code and clear documentation. Monarch movement candidates should have familiarity with tag-based movement data and movement models (correlated random walks, hidden Markov models, etc…).  Experience with GIS, remote sensing (extracting and processing satellite imagery, spatial projections and re-scaling spatial data, familiarity with imagery and data repositories, and API’s), gridded climate datasets (DAYMET, ERA5, PRISM…) statistical or machine-learning methods, and data QA/QC is strongly preferred for either track but not required for all applicants. Student contractors would ideally be in graduate school or recent graduates (within two years). Veterans are encouraged to apply.

How to Apply: Send a brief cover note (state your preferred track: Monarch and/or Urban) and a résumé/CV to Dr. Peter Ibsen (pibsen@usgs.gov). Please include “USGS student contractor (“Urban” or “Monarch”)” in the subject line.