Benefits:

Competitive salary

Dental insurance

Health insurance

Paid time off

Vision insurance

The Agroecology program at Archbold Biological Station’s Buck Island Ranch (BIR) (www.archbold-station.org) is seeking an Environmental Specialist focused on monitoring ranchland water projects and managing environmental sensor networks in south-central Florida. The Environmental Specialist will be co-supervised by Dr. Betsey (Elizabeth) Boughton and Dr. Amartya Saha.

Position highlights

The position is based at Buck Island Ranch, both an operational cattle ranch and an experimental field station, in the Agroecology lab directed by Dr. Betsey Boughton. The lab is involved in research and monitoring projects focused on environmentally and economically sustainable ranchlands in the Headwaters of the Everglades. The lab participates in long-term ecological science networks such as NutNet and LTAR (https://ltar.ars.usda.gov ), a network of 19 agroecosystems across the United States that seek to address the grand challenge of maintaining multiple ecosystem services in food production systems.

This position is focused on Dispersed Water Monitoring projects on ranchlands throughout the watershed and maintaining a large sensor network measuring water stage, rainfall, automated water samplers (e.g. ISCOs), and pumps (~45 monitoring sites). The project is funded by the South Florida Water Management District https://www.sfwmd.gov/our-work/water-storage-strategies , and Archbold has been conducting monitoring on this project since 2011. This is an innovative payment for environmental services program to encourage the provision of multiple ecosystem services from agricultural lands. The intent is to pay ranchers for providing documented environmental services. These projects also have multiple co-benefits including enhancement of wetland ecosystems and biodiversity and reducing the risk of land use conversion by keeping ranchers ranching.

The position may also work on other environmental monitoring sensors at BIR, including groundwater stage sensors, eddy covariance, phenocams, soil moisture, and weather stations. This position will also assist in other Agroecology projects as needed including field work (plant, soils) and labwork (sample preparation).

Duties will include a combination of the following:

Install, maintain and operate field instrumentation for water level and quality monitoring including sample collection, maintenance of electronic equipment, troubleshooting, downloading data, storage and analysis and management of records and documentation related to sample data.

Manage and analyze data on hydrologic conditions, water chemistry and other environmental variables.

Lead or assist with water quality sampling and associated paperwork, chain of custody forms

Ensure access and effective distribution of data via www and ftp site for all parties.

Provide regular feedback to, and facilitate interactions among, ranch landowners and land managers, scientists from academia, local, State and Federal agencies.

Provide technical assistance to participating landowners as needed and troubleshoot all aspects of project implementation and data collection.

Help organize project outreach and education efforts, including 1-2 field days per year.

Manage quarterly and annual reports (e.g. reports to funding agencies, individual ranch reports, and annual reports).

Qualifications

Minimum: Bachelor’s degree. We would be happy to accept applications from Bachelor’s with 1-2 years of experience or Master’s degree. Relevant fields include biology, ecology, environmental science, engineering, hydrology, agricultural engineering or related field.

Experience with water sampling and hydrologic instrumentation, including automatic water samplers, groundwater wells, and dataloggers.

Practical experience with computer software and databases used in scientific applications for data management and analysis for large data sets.

Willingness to live in a rural location and be capable of strenuous fieldwork under hot, humid subtropical conditions.

Excellent oral communication and technical writing skills.

Ability to work and communicate with diverse constituents including ranchers, technical experts and the public.

Other Desired Qualifications

Experience with construction, carpentry

Experience working with governmental agencies

Knowledge of Campbell Scientific dataloggers, sensors, and coding language a plus

Highly motivated and enthusiastic about living and working in a rural field-station setting. A valid driver’s license and own transportation for personal activities is required.

Respectful of others

Ability to work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team

Good communication skills, written and verbal communication

Detail-oriented with respect to following sampling protocols and managing data.

Must have authorization for US employment.