Research Area Specialist Associate

A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position.

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

The University of Michigan Biological Station sits on over 10,000 acres along Douglas Lake in northern Michigan and holds one of the longest continuous ecological records in North America, 117 years and counting, with approximately 70 active research projects each year. The UMBS Research Specialist coordinates with the UMBS research staff to ensure the long-term instruments stay running, field infrastructure stays maintained, and data is flowing so science can continue year after year.

The job follows the seasons. Spring and summer are vibrant with a lot of community interaction. Hundreds of students and researchers live on site. Winter is quieter as fieldwork declines and becomes more self-directed, a time to work up data, dig into the archives, and get the instruments ready for the next season. This is a year-round, 2-year term-limited position in northern Michigan.

This position works closely with the Resident Biologist, Data Manager, Assistant Director, seasonal technicians, and the many researchers and students who come through the Station. We are looking for someone who is hands-on, organized, and excited to help steward a long-term research record while contributing to a welcoming and collaborative research and teaching community. The primary focus of this role is to strengthen our data collection efforts and ensure that the Station's long-term research infrastructure (both scientific and data) is well maintained and continues to support the science conducted here.

• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot the eddy covariance flux tower instruments so they stay powered, calibrated, and logging data.
• Serve as safety lead for the eddy covariance flux tower facility. Become a certified competent climber and train all climbers according to established protocols.
• Assist with maintaining the sensor networks and data collection behind our long-term projects; including the NADP site, the lake buoy and its data, the snow sensor, the UV sensors, and our network of met and environmental sensors.
• Quality-check at the instrument level; archive using UMBS data management workflows.
• Assist with field data collection and research campaigns.
• Assist with digitization, curation, and sharing of historic research data.

Research Facilities 30%

• Be the first point of contact for faculty, researchers, students, and staff using the lab spaces in Stockard Lakeside lab. Facilitate scheduling, access, and shared space use with the UMBS Research Team.
• Implement policies for how the labs are run, and maintain resources being used while ensuring access across research groups, courses, and visitors.
• Manage general-use lab instruments, equipment, and spaces while performing routine maintenance, calibration, repair, and proper use.
  
  Keep inventories current and recommend upgrades or new purchases when research and teaching communities need them.
• Assist with safety procedures for chemical handling, biological materials, field samples, waste disposal, and general lab practice.
• Assist with keeping safety documentation, training records, SOPs, and emergency information current, and assist the Assistant Director with training and procedural…