Skip to main content

Job alert: PSI is hiring two post-doctoral scholars focusing on ecosystem modeling and fisheries science

By Puget Sound Institute
Published October 14, 2022
Comments Closed
From UWHires: https://ap.washington.edu/ahr/position-details/?job_id=104123

Postdoctoral Scholar – Ecosystem Modeling and Fisheries Science: Climate Change, Nutrient, and Contaminant Impacts on the Salish Sea

Position Overview

Organization: School of Engineering and Technology

Title: Postdoctoral Scholar – Ecosystem Modeling and Fisheries Science: Climate Change, Nutrient, and Contaminant Impacts on the Salish Sea

Position Details

Position Description

The University of Washington Tacoma’s Puget Sound Institute, in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Services, Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle WA seeks 2 (two) Postdoctoral Scholars to conduct ecosystem modeling research in the Salish Sea. The Salish Sea spans Washington State in the US and British Columbia in Canada, and includes Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Postdoctoral scholars are represented by UAW 4121 and are subject to the collective bargaining agreement, unless agreed exclusion criteria apply. For more information, please visit the University of Washington Labor Relations website.

Both positions have an anticipated start date of January 1, 2023 (negotiable). Initial appointments are for 1 year. One position allows reappointment up to 1 additional year, pending performance review. The other position allows reappointment up to 2 additional years, pending performance review.

The Postdoctoral Scholars will join the new “Salish Sea Integrated Modeling Framework” project, which will link several regional modeling frameworks to inform decision making related to species recovery, nutrients and contaminant management, and mitigation of climate change impacts. The three modeling frameworks are the Salish Sea Model of oceanography and biogeochemistry, the VELMA model of watershed hydrology and biogeochemistry, and the Atlantis model for Puget Sound. The project will also be developing a qualitative network model for human dimensions, and a high-resolution land use change model. The project is a collaboration between UW Tacoma/Puget Sound Institute, the USEPA-ORD VELMA modeling team, the UW Salish Sea Modeling Center, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center, PNNL, and CSIRO Australia.

The ecosystem modeling will involve the Atlantis framework (https://research.csiro.au/atlantis/, Fulton et al. 2011; Audzijonyte et al. 2019).  Globally, Atlantis has been applied to consider aspects of ecosystem-based management, including impacts of fisheries and harvesting options, ocean acidification, and climate change. The Atlantis code base is maintained by project collaborators at CSIRO (Australia), and has been applied to over 30 systems worldwide. The Puget Sound Atlantis model (Morzaria Luna et al. 2022) simulates full ecosystem dynamics, incorporating information from ROMS oceanographic models, and using that to drive dynamics of interacting predator and prey groups within a three-dimensional domain. To date, Puget Sound Atlantis modeling has focused on drivers of juvenile salmon survival, testing management actions for the recovery of orca populations, and investigating the role of jellyfish and contaminants in Puget Sound.

The Postdoctoral scholars will conduct ecosystem modeling to link an Atlantis food web model to VELMA and Salish Sea oceanography. The goal will be to evaluate present and future effects of nutrient loading, contaminants, oceanographic changes, and the impacts of climate, population, and land use change on the marine ecosystem. The postdoctoral scholars will collaborate directly with the full multidisciplinary team, especially modelers leading the VELMA and Salish Sea Model efforts.

Salary: $63,000/year

Location: Center for Urban Waters, UW Tacoma. This position will have the option for hybrid schedule.

Travel: Funds include travel to one conference per year to present project results.

International Applicants: Visa sponsorship will be reviewed on a case-by-case bases. Relocation costs are not included.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

Commitment to Diversity 

The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).

Privacy Notice

Review the University of Washington Privacy Notice for Demographic Data of Job Applicants and University Personnelto learn how your demographic data are protected, when the data may be used, and your rights.

Disability Services

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements and Information

Under Washington State Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14.1, University of Washington (UW) workers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof thereof, or receive a UW-approved medical or religious exemption. This requirement will be a condition of any offer associated with this recruitment. For more information, please visit https://www.washington.edu/coronavirus/vaccination-requirement/

Qualifications

  • Ph.D. in Quantitative Ecology, Fisheries Science, Biology, Zoology, Biological Oceanography, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, or related discipline;
  • Knowledge of modeling ecosystem dynamics and/or fisheries population dynamics;
  • Experience with Atlantis or another marine ecosystem model
  • Strong quantitative skills
  • Proficiency with statistics and data analysis
  • Familiarity with a programming language such as C++, R, MATLAB, or Python
  • Willingness to collaborate with other postdoctoral researchers, students, and NOAA and University scientists
  • Demonstrated ability to summarize scientific findings in the form of written manuscripts and oral presentation

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience developing and ideally leading research analyses
  • Familiarity with climate/oceanographic models and data, biogeochemistry, or contaminant impacts
  • Familiarity with fish population dynamics or fisheries management
  • Knowledge of multivariate and spatial statistics

Instructions

Applications should be submitted by November 15, 2022 to ensure full consideration but the positions will remain open until filled

All applications should be submitted through Interfolio. http://apply.interfolio.com/114473

http://apply.interfolio.com/114473

Application packages should include the following:

  1. A letter of application that addresses how you meet the basic and preferred qualifications
  2. A Curriculum Vitae
  3. One to three representative publications
  4. Names and contact information of three references

Applicants with inquiries regarding this position should contact: Tessa Francis at tessa@uw.edu

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

Commitment to Diversity 

The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).

Privacy Notice

Review the University of Washington Privacy Notice for Demographic Data of Job Applicants and University Personnelto learn how your demographic data are protected, when the data may be used, and your rights.

Disability Services

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements and Information

Under Washington State Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14.1, University of Washington (UW) workers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof thereof, or receive a UW-approved medical or religious exemption. This requirement will be a condition of any offer associated with this recruitment. For more information, please visit https://www.washington.edu/coronavirus/vaccination-requirement/.