Postdoctoral Landscape Ecologist

About the role

This position supports landscape-scale research on coastal wetland responses to extreme events, including droughts, hurricanes, and freeze events. The work involves integrating historical climate, vegetation-change, geospatial, remote-sensing, and ecological datasets to support landscape-, regional-, and global-scale analyses.

Responsibilities

• Conduct literature reviews focused on the effects of extreme events on coastal wetland ecosystems.
• Develop research hypotheses regarding coastal wetland responses to drought, hurricanes, freeze events, and other extreme environmental conditions.
• Acquire, organize, document, and analyze abiotic and extreme-event data that characterize environmental drivers of ecological change.
• Acquire and analyze long-term remote sensing data to quantify spatial and temporal effects of extreme events on coastal wetlands.
• Acquire and analyze long-term field-based ecological data to assess impacts of extreme events on coastal wetland vegetation and ecosystem conditions.
• Apply landscape ecology and coastal wetland ecosystem science to investigate wetland stability, plant productivity, vegetation performance, and vegetation coverage.
• Integrate historical climate, vegetation-change, geospatial, remote-sensing, and ecological datasets to support landscape-, regional-, and global-scale analyses.
• Develop and maintain complete technical documentation for datasets, analytical workflows, methodologies, and project activities.
• Produce Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)-compliant metadata for data products and deliverables.
• Maintain organized project records, timekeeping documentation, data logs, analytical code, and version-controlled project materials.
• Prepare publication-ready figures, tables, data sets, data releases, reports, and journal articles that summarize research methods, findings, and key conclusions.
• Communicate research results and findings to staff, project partners, customers, cooperators, and other stakeholders.
• Participate in and help facilitate project meetings, partner meetings, technical discussions, and research-planning activities.
• Present research findings through conference presentations, partner briefings, scientific meetings, and other outreach opportunities.
• Assist with technical aspects of proposal development, as assigned.
• Prepare and submit monthly status reports that describe project progress, completed work, issues encountered, proposed solutions, and upcoming activities.
• Follow established standard operating procedures, quality requirements, safety procedures, information-security requirements, and applicable federal policies.
• Support field-based data collection activities, when required.
• Travel to field sites, meetings, or partner locations as required by the task order.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in ecology, geography, landscape ecology, coastal ecology, environmental science, or a closely related field strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in landscape ecology and coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics required.
• Experience evaluating ecological responses to extreme events, including droughts, hurricanes, freeze events, flooding, storms, or other climate-related disturbances preferred.
• Experience using remote sensing, geospatial data, historical climate datasets, vegetation-change products, or comparable environmental data sources required.
• Demonstrated ability to acquire, manage, analyze, and interpret long-term ecological, environmental, geospatial, and remote-sensing datasets.
• Experience conducting spatial and temporal analyses at landscape, regional, and/or global scales preferred.
• Strong knowledge of coastal wetland vegetation, wetland stability, plant productivity, vegetation performance, and ecosystem response to environmental stressors preferred.
• Ability to develop scientifically sound research questions, hypotheses, study approaches, and analytical methods.
• Demonstrated experience preparing peer-reviewed journal articles, technical reports, scientific figures, tables, data products, and presentations.
• Familiarity with federal scientific-data requirements, metadata standards, data documentation practices, and reproducible research methods.
• Ability to develop FGDC-compliant metadata and maintain thorough documentation for datasets, analytical procedures, and research products.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex scientific findings clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with federal scientists, partners, cooperators, customers, and other stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound professional judgment, manage competing priorities, and deliver accurate, timely work.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to data quality, documentation, and customer specifications.
• Ability to successfully complete a federal background investigation and maintain required access credentials.
• Ability to meet fieldwork-related safety, physical, and travel requirements, as needed.

Company Information

Cherokee Federal is a division of tribally owned federal contracting companies owned by Cherokee Nation Businesses. As a trusted partner to federal clients, Cherokee Federal rapidly builds innovative and advanced solutions across environmental science, national security and intelligence, cybersecurity, health care, logistics, and other mission-critical areas. One hundred percent of Cherokee Federal profits support Cherokee Nation citizens through health care, education, and job creation. To learn more, visit cherokee-federal.com. #CherokeeFederal

Cherokee Federal is a military friendly employer. Veterans and active military members transitioning to civilian careers are encouraged to apply.