Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Staff Associate; Grant Funded

Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Staff Associate (Grant Funded)

The Post-Doctoral Associate will coordinate and participate in integrated field and analytical components of a multi-year project in southeastern Massachusetts (Greater Boston Area). The position will lead seasonal field implementation (automated trail cameras, small-mammal surveys, tick collections), manage and integrate multiple data streams (field, laboratory, and open biodiversity databases), and develop multi-species, dynamic occupancy and geospatial models to estimate distributions and drivers of white-tailed deer and other wildlife hosts.

Essential Duties
- Plan and conduct repeated field visits to multiple sites in southeastern Massachusetts. Deploy and maintain automated trail cameras; conduct small-mammal surveys. Collect ticks and small-mammal tissue samples following approved protocols. Train and co-supervise graduate and undergraduate students in field methods and safety. Develop and implement multi-species dynamic occupancy models (including models estimating occupancy, colonization, and extinction processes through time), build complementary statistical and geospatial models of host distributions, and establish reproducible pipelines to ingest and harmonize open-source biodiversity data (e.g., via eBird and iNaturalist) with required attribution/terms compliance.

Disseminate results through national conference presentations and will co-author peer-reviewed manuscripts with the project team.

Required Qualifications
- PhD in ecology, wildlife biology, epidemiology, quantitative biology, biostatistics, or a closely related field. Demonstrated experience with quantitative modeling (e.g., occupancy or hierarchical models), statistical programming (R, Python, Java script, julia), and reproducible workflows (version control, documented code, and data management). Demonstrated ability to conduct field work in variable conditions, coordinate multi-site sampling, and train/supervise students safely and effectively. Evidence of independent research productivity (peer-reviewed publications), effective scientific writing, and oral communication skills.

Experience conducting field research in wildlife ecology is required, including study design, data collection, and adherence to biosafety and animal handling protocols. Demonstrate strong organizational skills, meticulous data management practices, and the ability to coordinate multi-site research activities.

Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in one or more of the following: camera-trap study design and analysis; small-mammal and bird live-trapping, handling, and biosafety; tick collection from life hosts, host blood draw, and identification workflows. Spatial analysis and GIS (e.g., raster/vector processing, habitat covariates, spatial prediction). Bayesian hierarchical modeling and/or advanced occupancy modeling (multi-species and/or dynamic). Experience accessing biodiversity data via APIs and integrating heterogeneous open datasets while meeting attribution/terms requirements (e.g., eBird).

Experience in mentoring graduate or undergraduate students in research.