Biologist (Postdoctoral Research Fellow), IS-0430-11

Biologist (Postdoctoral Research Fellow), IS-0430-11

Final date to receive applications: 24 August 2026

Department: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Barro Colorado, Panama

Reporting To: Supervisory Biologist

Compensation: $63,795 - $68,049 / year

OPEN DATE: June 24, 2026

CLOSING DATE: August 24, 2026

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary, not to exceed two years, with the possibility of extension contingent of availability of funds.

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY

LOCATION:

Barro Colorado Island, Panama.
Non-Sensitive/ Low Risk Position
Open to all qualified applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts.
Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Must maintain a bank account for direct deposit/electronic transfer in the United States if they are U.S. citizens, or in Panama if they are third-country nationals assigned to the duty station.
• Applications are invited from qualified candidates regardless of nationality.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 60 days of the closing date of this announcement.
• Official transcripts confirming completion of the PhD must be submitted prior to issuance of a final offer.

The BCI-EDGE project seeks applications for a Biologist Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the area of Evolutionary Genomics at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. This postdoc will be part of BCI-EDGE, a multi-institution project focused on the evolutionary dynamics and genomic ecology of tropical forests, with datasets and analyses from research plots in Panama, including the Barro Colorado Island. The overarching goal is to understand the evolutionary processes that maintain tropical forest diversity.

The project combines whole-genome sequencing, experimental ecology, and more than four decades of spatially explicit demographic data from one of the world’s best-studied tropical forests. Broadly, the project will test how ecological interactions, natural selection, natural enemies, hybridization, and environmental gradients shape genetic diversity, adaptation, and species coexistence in tropical tree communities.

The Biologist Postdoctoral Research Fellow will be based in Panama and will direct experimental and observational studies of selection during the seed-to-seedling transition. This individual will design and lead seed collection, seed burial experiments, seedling transplant studies, and fungal exclusion treatments, working closely with field technician(s) to ensure experimental implementation. The postdoc will coordinate genomic sampling of pre- and post selection cohorts and lead analyses quantifying allele frequency shifts associated with viability selection and enemy-mediated mortality.

By linking experimental outcomes to long-term ecological data and genomic patterns identified in Aims 1 and 2, this position will provide insight into how early-life selection shapes population genetic structure and contributes to the maintenance of diversity in tropical forests.

Independently conducts research and fieldwork in area of specialization. Research consists of…