Ecologist Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Final date to receive applications: 12 October 2026

Department: National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Washington, DC

Reporting To: Supervisory Research Wildlife Biologist

Compensation: $85,447 / year

OPEN DATE: September 29, 2026

CLOSING DATE: October 12, 2026

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Not to Exceed Twenty-four (24) Months (may be extended based on funds availability)

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY

LOCATION:

Washington, DC

Position sensitivity and risk:
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Who May Apply:

Open to all Qualified Applicants

Trust employees have their own benefit program and 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)

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated as low risk.
• Complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), Washington, DC. NZCBI plays a leading role in the Smithsonian's global efforts to save wildlife species from extinction and train future generations of conservationists.

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to create a new biodiversity metric of animal mortality to inform global biodiversity policy. The postdoctoral researcher will synthesize methods across movement ecology, demography, and environmental data science to identify animal mortality events, quantify their drivers, and produce standardized, scalable metrics that link anthropogenic and environmental stressors to mortality risk and population change with the goal of creating a standardized indicator.

This work would be part of the newly formed Animal Movement Biodiversity Observation Network (Move BON), a global coordination network connecting animal tracking data to biodiversity monitoring and policy endeavors. Specifically, the postdoctoral researcher would coordinate work within the Move BON Mortality Metrics Working Group co-led by Scott Yanco (NZCBI) and Ruth Oliver (UC Santa Barbara). Indicators developed in this project will be positioned for integration into national biodiversity strategies and Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework implementation via Move BON.

The project would also produce a toolkit designed to produce metrics in formats compatible with existing national reporting obligations, and a cross-taxa case study will be developed in partnership with national reporting bodies to ensure direct policy relevance. Key outputs could include:

• Analyzes data using computers with statistical and graphics software applying appropriate statistical tests and data reduction methods. Reviews background material submitted with samples, determines approaches to be used in analysis and devises modification in the method that is required to solve the analytical problems.
• Writes reports and publishable scientific papers and gives oral presentations on the results of the sampling and experiments. Publishes scholarly reports of descriptive and/or theoretical nature based on the above. Publications are…