Field Research Specialist, AgNUE

Field Research Specialist, AgNUE Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

This position requires in-person work on campus and may require working outside standard hours including evenings and occasional weekends.

This position is eligible for sponsorship for work authorization, except for sponsorship of a new H1B petition that would incur the $100,000 fee.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University of Illinois system and was founded in 1867. The university serves the people of Illinois through a shared commitment to excellence in teaching, research, public engagement, economic development and health care. Faculty, staff and students share their knowledge, expertise and resources with residents in every corner of the state through public service and outreach programs.

A field research specialist position is available in the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment in support of the Agricultural Nitrogen Use Efficiency Platform (AgNUE) project funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. The mission of AgNUE is to enhance the accuracy of models that predict field-scale nitrogen cycling to improve NUE and reduce nitrogen losses, specifically nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate leaching, by establishing an international research platform of high-resolution multi-scale measurements and advanced modelling that integrates mitigation technologies and management under diverse bioclimatic zones.

This position will support research activities at the University of Illinois supersite for multi-scale measurements, mechanistic experiments investigating controls on the fate of nitrogen, and soil microbial screening for microbial predictors of nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen gas emissions.

Job Summary

Assist with field work and laboratory experiments; collect and analyze plant, soil, gas and water samples for CABBI and AgNUE research projects; and support lab activities as part of the CABBI and AgNUE projects.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Collect plant, soil, gas, and water samples from field sites, and prepare supplies for these sampling campaigns.
• Install, maintain, repaire, and troubleshoot gas analyzers, automated chambers, and soil sensors in the field.
• Process and analyze plant, soil, gas, and water samples in the laboratory.
• Organize, compile, and quality check datasets, and process raw data using spreadsheet templates and R scripts.
• Order and inventory materials and supplies for AgNUE research activities.
• Supervise undergraduate students assisting with this project, including training, assigning work, and tracking work performance and deliverables.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

Working extended hours in the field, including under hot and humid conditions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in biology, environmental science, chemistry, soil science, or related field. Alternate degree fields will be considered/accepted depending on depth and breadth of experience and skills as related to this position.
• Research experience in the laboratory and in the field related to biogeochemistry or related disciplines (e.g., above and below ground plant sampling, trace gas flux measurements, soil sampling, wet chemistry, gas chromatography.)

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in biology, environmental science, chemistry, soil science, or related field.
• Experience running analytical instrumentation of any kind in the lab, including for soil, water and gas samples (i.e., Smart Chem discrete autoanalyzer, gas chromatograph, isotope ratio mass spectrometer.)
• Experience with wet chemistry, such as conducting…