USGS Quantitative Molecular Biology Fellowship

Position Overview

Postdoctoral Fellow – Development of scalable pipelines for environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding data at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) and Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC).

The project focuses on building, optimizing, and implementing robust workflows for processing short‑read sequencing and long‑read (Oxford Nanopore MinION) eDNA datasets, enabling researchers to generate actionable data for natural resource decision making.

• Apply cutting‑edge molecular methods to produce actionable data for natural resource decision making.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams on quantitative analyses of complex genomic datasets.
• Use remote, high‑powered computer clusters to process large datasets.

Adam Sepulveda (asepulveda)

• Start date:
  
  October 1, 2026 (flexible).
• Duration: initially one year; may be renewed upon recommendation and funding availability.
• Level: full time.
• Stipend: $85,000–$95,000 annually.

Open to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and foreign nationals who meet the required immigration status criteria.

• Current or completed doctoral degree in molecular biology, microbiology, bioinformatics, or a related discipline.
• Experience analyzing eDNA metabarcoding data.
• Proficiency with QIIME2, DADA2, Python, and R.
• Co‑authorship of peer‑reviewed publications demonstrating relevant skills.
• Experience moving raw sequence reads through taxonomic assignment, statistical analysis, and translating results into peer‑reviewed scientific studies.
• Experience operating high‑throughput computing environments and implementing bioinformatics pipelines in R.

Participants are not employees of USGS, DOE, or ORISE. No employment‑related benefits are provided, but proof of health insurance is required. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Rachel – email USGS (reference code: DOI‑USGS‑2026‑62)

7/17/2026 3:00:00 PM Eastern Time Zone