Title: Biologist (Student/Recent Graduate)
Position: Student Service Contractor
Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Location: La Crosse, WI (Remote Work Available)
Hourly Rate of Pay: $35.64 (MA/MS Level -GS Scale Equivalent GS-11)
Duration: ~1 year
Application Deadline: November 15, 2023
Job Summary: Primary service provided by the student is to develop, improve, and apply spatial simulation models to habitat restoration projects on the Upper Mississippi River.
Project Description:
The work will complement ongoing landscape ecological studies conducted on the Upper Mississippi River and Floodplain. Specifically, we are looking for someone to apply existing spatial simulation models to examine changes in the river-floodplain resulting from planned management actions and potential environmental changes (e.g., climate, hydrology, land use). In addition to applying existing models, we anticipate opportunities to refine model parameters using existing data sets, revise existing models, and build new models and tools.
Existing models for the Upper Mississippi River and Floodplain include:
Floodplain Inundation, Floodplain Forest Succession, Submersed Aquatic Vegetation, Wind and Wave Fetch.
Services to be Provided: The student or recent graduate hire will work closely with investigators at the Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center. Work will involve running existing models and processing outputs in a GIS. Work will also involve analyzing data derived from modelling studies and developing input GIS files for future projects. Finally, the student will produce draft manuscripts and give presentations at scientific conferences.
Qualifications: Completion of a master’s degree (or about to defend) or greater in biology, ecology, or geographic information systems. Skills and experience in computer coding (python, R, C#), GIS, and statistics, along with a track record of publishing in peer reviewed journals and presenting at scientific conferences.
Required Documents: Cover Letter: brief letter describing interest in and qualifications for the position. Resume: include contact information, as well as relevant knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, and contact information for three references. Transcript: unofficial transcript; or letter from university registrar or academic advisor.
Eligibility: Students are eligible if they have 2 or more years of college course work graduated but received a college/university degree less than 12 months ago and are at least 18 years of age. Non-US citizens may be eligible to participate, depending on their immigration status and the applicable regulations of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. USGS employees, their spouses, and their children are not eligible to participate in this program.
Notice: Students are paid for each hour worked. Students will be working as independent contractors and do not receive a premium rate for work beyond 8 hours/day or 40 hours/week. Additionally, students are paid only for hours worked (with no holiday or personal leave benefits). Students do earn 1 hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Pay Rates for students include cost of self-employment taxes for social security and Medicare. This announcement is to fill one vacancy.
How To Apply, send e-mail or mail to:
Nathan De Jager
U.S. Geological Survey 2630 Fanta Reed Road
La Crosse, WI 54603
ndejager@usgs.gov