Postdoctoral scholar in coastal drone research

Dr. Corey Garzas lab at the University of Washington the Marine Landscape Ecology Lab seeks to hire a Postdoctoral Scholar in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS). The position is supported by internal funding from the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. The candidate hired into this position will have the opportunity to engage in research that utilizes aerial drones to map coastal habitats ranging from the rocky intertidal to kelp forests and statistical modeling to understand the drivers of spatial variation in coastal habitats.

The Marine Landscape Ecology Lab is dedicated to advancing the use of autonomous technologies and spatial analysis to understand the environmental drivers that shape the composition of coastal habitats across multiple scales of organization. Training the next generation of scientists is also a critical focus area of the lab. Reaching out to and providing opportunities to groups that have historically been underrepresented in the sciences is a central activity of the lab. The Marine Landscape Ecology Lab is committed to these goals and supports active participation in broadening participation activities by all members of the lab.

The project will involve:

Conducting coastal habitat mapping with aerial drones

Postprocessing and analysis of drone imagery data

Coordination of coastal mapping projects in British Columbia California and Washington

Coordination of communications with external research partners

Educational outreach and broadening participation efforts focused on the use of drones in coastal research.

The salary range for this position will be $76000 to $77976 per year or as mandated by a U.S. Department of Labor prevailing wage determination.

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.

University of Washington Postdoctoral Scholar appointments are for a temporary defined period not to exceed five years/60 months including any previous postdoctoral experience.

Mandatory Qualifications:

Candidates will have a confirmed Ph.D. at the time of appointment in a relevant discipline (e.g. marine ecology quantitative ecology ocean science geoinformatics statistics).

Qualifications:

Have prior experience with the use of aerial drones for coastal mapping

Have an FAA Part 107 commercial drone license

Experience with remote sensing approaches for studying coastal environments

Experience with ArcGIS Pro and the ArcGIS Pro image analysis suite

Experience with statistical modeling in R Python or Matlab

Experience with machine learning based approaches for image analysis

Familiarity with digital photogrammetry

Adopt a rigorous and scholarly approach to their science with evidence of this from presentations and publications

Demonstrate informed curiosity with the ability to generate novel scientific questions

Be internally intrinsically motivated to answer the projects overarching research questions

Be a reliable team member who collaborators can always count on to come through on their promises

Be a respectful professional and generous team player who goes the extra mile to help their colleagues and maintains strong collegial bonds

Be an effective mentor for junior colleagues

Have a positive attitude in the face of obstacles or setbacks; have the professionalism to take these inevitabilities in stride

Have excellent time management skills; accomplish research goals by creating realistic but ambitious plans and initiating open communication when plans need to be adjusted

Have the willingness and the courage to discuss issues openly (i.e. to give and receive feedback to celebrate successes and to discuss ways to overcome challenges).