Job Details

Research Scientist I

Position Number: 6154867
Location: Boulder, CO
Position Type: Laboratory and Research

Research Scientist I

Requisition Number: 63610
Location: Boulder Colorado
Employment Type: Research Faculty
Schedule: Full Time
Posting Close Date: 09-May-2025
Date Posted:

Job Summary

Grassland wildfires are increasing in frequency and are often extremely damaging to infrastructure and communities. Part of the problem with grassland wildfires is that we know relatively little about how grassland fuel characteristics (amount, moisture, structure) vary across landscapes and through time, the extent to which this variation affects fire behavior, and how different types of fuel treatments might influence fire behavior under different weather conditions. To improve our knowledge of grassland fuels and potential management options, we have been collecting a large dataset of grassland fuel characteristics including live and dead biomass, and fuel height. Additionally, we have set up an experiment to determine how potential fuel treatment methods including grazing, mowing, and prescribed fire affect fuel and other grassland functions. We seek a postdoctoral researcher to contribute to this project. This position is based in Boulder, Colorado and starts in August of 2025.
The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

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.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

We seek a person with interest and experience in spatial modeling, remote sensing, earth system modeling, and fire behavior with three main responsibilities:

Fuel model development: We aim to generate and evaluate spatial layers of predicted fuel characteristics in a form that can be used as the basis for fire behavior models based on extensive on-the-ground measures of fuel structure that we have made along with remotely sensed data and other spatial information. Primarily, we aim to used fire behavior models such as Flammap to evaluate different scenarios of fuel treatments, plant community change, and variation in weather on landscape-scale fire behavior scenarios. To do this, we will need an efficient pipeline for generating fuel models based on a range of data inputs and scenarios that we aim to evaluate.
Maintaining observational and experimental datasets: We have already established a large network of observational and experimental sites where we monitor fuel structure, plant communities, and soil characteristics. While there will be field assistants to conduct much of the field and lab work, the person in this position will be expected to help coordinate this effort and work with students to continue these time-series datasets and maintain high quality data.
Collaboration and coordination with partner organizations: This project aims to answer questions highly relevant to local land management and which can only be implemented with coordination and collaboration across a variety of partners. Thus, partnerships are critical to it's success. The person in this role will be responsible for strengthening coordination and collaboration with partner organizations through clear and consistent communication, contributing to coordination efforts such as the Boulder County Fireshed meetings, and interact with members of the public about what we learn about grassland fire behavior and hazard.

What We Can Offer

$62,000 - $66,000 for one year (the following years are contingent on future funding and project direction).

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder.

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be groundbreaking. Be Boulder.

What We Require

Applicants should have completed a PhD prior to the start of this position.

What You Will Need

Demonstrated experience working with large and varied datasets in spatial modeling applications.
Experience modeling fire behavior and/or risk.
Ability to collaborate and coordinate with a wide range of local land managers is important.

In your cover letter, please be sure to directly address your experience in these three areas.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

Resume or CV.
Cover Letter addressed to the Search Committee briefly describing your qualifications, professional goals, and specific interest in this position.

If you are selected as the finalist, your degree will be verified by the CU Boulder Campus Human Resources department using an approved online vendor. If your degree was obtained outside of the United States, please submit a translated version as an optional attachment.

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until 5/9/25.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, applications must be submitted through CU Boulder Jobs.

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

To apply, visit https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/Research-Scientist-I/63610