NEON Chief Scientist​/Observatory Director

Battelle delivers when others can't. We conduct research and development, manage national laboratories, design and manufacture products and deliver critical services for our clients-whether they are a multi-national corporation, a small start-up or a government agency.

We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply.


Job Summary


Battelle is seeking an accomplished scientific leader to serve as the NEON Chief Scientist and Observatory Director, providing strategic, scientific, and operational leadership for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). This role is based in Boulder, Colorado, and represents a unique opportunity to lead one of the world's most advanced ecological monitoring platforms.

We anticipate launching the interview process in June, with the intent to have this position filled by September.

Battelle is a mission-driven, nonprofit research and development organization committed to applying science and technology to solve the world's most challenging problems. Guided by a founding mission to do the greatest good for humanity, Battelle invests its expertise, creativity, and resources to deliver impact for customers, communities, and future generations. Battelle operates at the forefront of innovation across national security, health, energy, manufacturing, and environmental research.

Our work is grounded in scientific rigor, technical excellence, and a deep commitment to advancing knowledge that makes the world safer, healthier, and more sustainable.

The Chief Scientist/ Observatory Director role for the U.S. National Science Foundation funded National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will serve as the top-level scientific authority and is responsible for the advocacy of transformative research using the continental scale ecological Observatory. This position will lead the NEON program through close coordination with the ecological and broader science community and ensure that the Observatory fulfills its scientific and educational mission.

The NEON Chief Scientist/ Observatory Director leads a multi-disciplinary scientific and technical staff to provide highly reliable data, infrastructure, and scientific resources to various stakeholders. In addition, this position will build impactful external activities with collaborators nationally and internationally.


Responsibilities

• Position NEON as a leader among ecological observing systems.
• Serve as a member of the Battelle-NEON leadership to advocate, support, and ensure the scientific objectives of the Observatory are met.
• Uphold the science requirements for the NEON Observatory, an activity that includes scientific development and management to preserve integrity of science requirements, designs, protocols, and algorithms.
• Represent Battelle-NEON to Federal Agencies, Congress, the Executive Branch, and other key external stakeholders in order to communicate effectively regarding the Program.
• Communicate regularly with NSF as the Battelle point of contact for the program regarding recommendations, partnerships, and impacts related to the program.
• Advise and work directly with Battelle Senior Management and the NEON Program Manager to lead and enable the science functions of the Observatory.
• Oversee, advise, and lead the science activities and staff that are needed for Battelle-NEON to fulfill its scientific mission of providing high-quality data to the research community.
• Oversee the strategy for periodic science validation activities to ensure that NEON achieves its science goals and remains relevant over the course of the Program.
• Interact with staff across Battelle to develop NEON adjacent opportunities and further staff development.
• Ensure the mentoring of the scientific staff with their professional development, build the professional and safety culture within NEON, and establish a high professional standard of performance, ethics, integrity and behavior in the conduct of the Program.
• Ensure close engagement with the science community and assess the long-term direction and strategic plan for NEON and lead periodic Program performance reviews to guide operations.

Key Qualifications

• Ph.D. with at least 10 years of experience following the Ph.D. and established record of outstanding scholarly achievement in ecology, environmental science, or related disciplines advancing ecological thought and managing ecological science.
• Known and respected as a thought-leader with broad, deep, and transformative understanding of the environmental sub-disciplines and complex Earth-system science that span the breadth of the NEON program. Demonstrated success with NSF proposal submissions, experience on panel reviews, and award management.
• Demonstrated experience using a combination of analytical, experimental, and theoretical approaches to solve problems in the sub-disciplines of the NEON program.
• Demonstrated experience with networked science and…