Jobs UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER

As the University's oldest institute, INSTAAR has a long history of responding to pressing environmental issues including climate change. Our traditional focus has been on alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic regions, where effects of global change are especially pronounced. In recent decades, our research has broadened to include environmental challenges that span local, regional, and global scales. INSTAAR’s research activities integrate field studies, state-of-the-art laboratory experiments, sample analysis, and numerical and laboratory modeling. Our field sites are located across all seven continents and the world's oceans.

Our expertise across disciplines helps us generate influential science that can inform public and policy decisions and move us toward a more sustainable society. INSTAAR's national and international research leadership is augmented by exceptional strength in graduate education and bringing undergraduates into the research process.

Key responsibilities fall into the three primary categories: lab work, field work, and research and development. Lab duties include: Ordering lab supplies and equipment to both continue the assembly of a biogeochemistry lab space and ensure inventory of existing lab supplies, ensuring lab safety compliance, proper waste management, and maintaining associated record keeping, updating and maintaining accessible standard operating protocols for laboratory analyses and field work, and training all group members on common procedures, working with PI to continuously optimize space use and workflows, basic processing and inventorying of field samples in the lab immediately upon field collection (e.g., filtering and preserving water samples), leading or overseeing the quantification of major water quality analyses (e.g., chlorophyll a, dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, pH, conductivity, acid neutralizing capacity, nitrate, and phosphate), working with other PRAs and other lab staff to analyze samples and maintain lab space, calibrating field sensors (YSI, miniDOTs, LiCOR PAR, etc) on a regular basis and sending equipment back to factory when necessary. Field work coordination includes: Training and supervising undergraduate and graduate students in lab and field protocols, carrying a heavy pack 5-10 miles to sample remote mountain lakes across Colorado with one or two field assistants in all seasons and weather conditions, leading associated scheduling and logistics for field trips across multiple projects; working with graduate students to help them plan their field campaigns, ensuring that preparation for the field and processing after field work are done in a timely manner, setting up, installing, and maintaining buoys with various sensor types in assorted alpine lakes, maintaining existing stream gages in Loch Vale, working with other sensor types as needed, communicating with officials from NPS, USFS, Niwot Ridge LTER, City of Boulder Watershed, and other organizations as applicable to ensure site access, permitting, and support from other crews when needed, assisting the PI with annual compliance reports (e.g., Annual Investigators Report for the National Park Service), ensuring the field vehicle is serviced on a regular basis. Research and development responsibilities include: Uploading, organizing, and QA/QC of all data collected in the field, ensuring that metadata and sample inventories are up to date and accurate, maintaining data streams for multiple projects and verifying the quality of collected data, sharing data with project collaborators, developing, installing, and maintaining high-frequency aquatic sensor networks and associated data streams, working with PI and postdoctoral fellow on the launch and maintenance of a lab database system, researching new analysis methods and developing associated protocols when needed, finding labs to outsource analyses to when applicable, shipping samples to other laboratories.

• The appointment is initially for 1 year, with the possibility for extension depending on funding availability and job performance. The position will begin as soon as June 1, 2025. Application review and virtual interviews will begin immediately. 

$50,000 - $60,000 Depending on experience.

• Minimum of a bachelor's degree in environmental science, ecology, biology, chemistry, geography, hydrology, or related fields, 2-3 years specialized experience in related field; valid driver’s license, experience in the field of freshwater ecology or limnology required, experience conducting field work in all weather conditions required (at least 2 days of field work a month are expected, year-round, with higher frequency June-August). 

• Ability to multitask, delegate, and work as part of a larger team; highly organized, strong interpersonal and communication skills, including written communication.

• Ideal candidate will have an MS degree but research experience can substitute for a graduate degree.
• The candidate will: be able to adapt in the face of evolving plans; have the ability to think quickly and change plans on the short notice while ensuring integrity of work and safety of crew; be able to manage a small team therefore organizational experience in any setting is preferred; have previous research experience; be willing to work occasional long days or weeks, particularly during the summer months (weekend work is extremely rare).