Asst​/Assoc Project Scientist - Field Stations and Nature Reserves

Asst/Assoc Project Scientist - Field Stations and Nature Reserves Position Overview

Position title: Assistant Project Scientist

Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step  current full-time base salary range for this position is $79,400 - $119,500. Off scale salaries, which yield compensation higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: Summer 2026

Position duration: One year, with the possibility of extension based on performance and availability of funding.

Open date: June 15, 2026

Next review date: Monday, Jun 29, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Monday, Jul 20, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time). Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

UC Berkeley Nature seeks applications for a Project Scientist at the Assistant or Associate rank. The selected candidate will be appointed at a rank commensurate with prior experience and will report to Professor Paul Fine.

The Assistant or Associate Project Scientist will contribute to research on the impacts of cannabis cultivation on native grassland microbial diversity in the North Coast Range of California. This research is funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The purpose of this project is to investigate the impacts of cannabis cultivation on native grasslands in California’s North Coast Range and to inform conservation and stewardship of these biodiverse and understudied habitats.

The Assistant or Associate Project Scientist will lead soil microbiome, metabolomic, and soil inoculation experiments to quantify how cannabis cultivation alters below ground ecosystem function and to test restoration strategies. This includes generating and analyzing high-throughput bacterial (16S) and fungal (ITS) sequencing data from soils and plant roots to characterize shifts in microbial diversity, composition, and functional groups across impacted and reference grasslands, as well as following experimental inoculations.

The Assistant or Associate Project Scientist will be responsible for designing and implementing greenhouse and field soil inoculation experiments that transfer soils from intact grasslands to sites impacted by cannabis cultivation. Additionally, the scientist will oversee an untargeted root metabolomics project to identify how soil inoculations and microbial communities influence plant chemical profiles that mediate plant–microbe interactions.

Other responsibilities include mentoring field technicians and assisting with tasks associated with the larger project, such as coordinating community events and establishing standard biodiversity monitoring protocols at study sites. This work requires daily in-person work at the Angelo Coast Range Reserve in Branscomb, CA.

Basic qualifications (required at time of application): PhD (or equivalent international degree)

Additional qualifications (required at time of start): Four years of postdoctoral research experience.

• Experience in soil and root microbiome analysis using high-throughput 16S/ITS amplicon sequencing, including diversity metrics, community composition, and functional interpretation.
• Experience with plant metabolomics and biochemical profiling, including metabolite extraction, GC-MS/LC-MS workflows, and linking chemical traits to plant–microbe interactions.
• Demonstrated experience leading long-term greenhouse and field experiments, including designing and executing plant bioassays and studies of plant–soil–microbe interactions under controlled and natural conditions.
• Strong bioinformatics and multi-omics integration skills, working with datasets such as microbiome, metabolomics, genomics, and transcriptomics using reproducible workflows in Python, R, and HPC environments.
• Hands-on molecular and microbial laboratory expertise, including DNA/RNA…