Stroud Water Research Center is seeking applicants for watershed and river science seasonal technicians to assist our science teams during the summer and fall of 2023.
Duties and Responsibilities
Seasonal technicians will work on long-term studies of stream restoration, water quality, climate change mitigation, and regenerative agriculture. Our work is quantifying the hydro-eco-geomorphological responses to riparian restoration and hydrologic infiltration best practices on watershed hillslopes. We are seeking to understand the timescales and mechanisms by which riparian forest ecosystem recovery alters riparian carbon sequestration, stream temperature regimes, large wood dynamics, stream geomorphology, dissolved and particulate fluxes, hydraulic retention time, and other reach-scale ecosystem processes. We are also evaluating the performance of agricultural best management practices designed to increase infiltration, reduce runoff, and retain sediment on hillslopes.
Seasonal technicians will directly participate in stream and riparian habitat sampling, soil infiltration measurements, laboratory sediment and water sample analysis, stream discharge measurements, operation and maintenance of environmental sensors, and data entry, curation, and analysis. Seasonal technician positions provide an excellent opportunity for recent graduates to gain broad experience in stream and watershed data collection, data curation and analysis, and working within an interdisciplinary science team.
Successful applicants will be supervised by Melinda Daniels, Ph.D., as part of the Fluvial Geomorphology Group.
Requirements
Completion of a bachelor’s or associate’s degree in a related field (ecology, biology, geography, geology, natural resources, environmental science, etc.) by the start of employment. While duties include lab and office work, technicians will spend significant time conducting fieldwork. As such, candidates must enjoy working outside and be able to perform physical activities (walking, standing, carrying equipment) for up to eight hours per workday in a variety of weather conditions.
Start date and term of employment: Starting date is negotiable, but ideally by the end of June 2023. Employment will extend ideally to December 2023, with the possibility of further extension depending on performance and funding availability.
Location: Stroud Water Research Center, Avondale, Pennsylvania. This is a rural location. Reliable personal transportation is essential as the Stroud Center is not near a public transportation system.
Salary: Approximately $600-700/week, depending on experience and qualifications. This is an hourly position that does not provide health or retirement benefits.
Application period: Beginning March 10, 2023, and rolling until positions are filled.
How to Apply: Interested candidates should provide a maximum one-page cover letter, a maximum two-page resume detailing any previous research experience, an unofficial undergraduate transcript, and the names and contact information of three references familiar with their work ethic and research abilities.
