The Genetics for Western Restoration and Conservation research group (https://www.usgs.gov/sbsc/gwrc) at the U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center in Flagstaff, AZ is seeking a recent graduate (i.e., who earned a PhD within the last 60 months) to assist with population genetic, landscape genetic, and potentially field-based restoration research projects. The projects involve plant species that are commonly used for restoration across the Intermountain West. Research questions revolve around recent and historical demographic trends, population structure/phylogeography, inferences of putative adaptation to regional environmental gradients, taxonomy, climatic factors influencing restoration success, etc. Many of the data are in hand and the candidate will immediately contribute to all stages of project development/execution. The candidate will predominantly work in an office setting, but some field work may be possible. This position is open to U.S. citizens and is funded for 12 months – extensions are dependent upon future funding. The pay rate will be consistent with a GS-11 Ecologist ($31.08/hour) and the position is eligible for benefits. The candidate must pass a federal background check, a pre-employment physical, and have a clean driving record.

Expectations:

Authorship/co-authorship on multiple peer-reviewed publications
Work well in a collaborative setting
Consistent and excellent attention to detail
Work in Flagstaff, AZ and start approximately 4-6 weeks after selection
Minimum qualifications:

PhD
Experience with next-generation sequencing protocols and data pipelines
Programming and data analysis skills in R
Ability to manage/work with big data (genetic and climate)
Experience with genetic analyses applicable to SNPs, for example: Stacks, ipyrad, genetic structure/assignment tests, PCA and sPCA, fastsimcoal2/dadi, LFMM, RDA, Procrustes, EEMS, Bedassle, etc.
Excellent writing skills
Desired qualifications:

Demonstrated ability to publish in peer-reviewed journals
Knowledge of western U.S. plant communities and natural history
Working knowledge of mixed models and field-based climate manipulation experimental designs
Conversant in restoration topics pertinent to the western U.S.
Experience with other programming/scripting languages (Python, Perl, C++, shell, etc.)
Experience working with remote high-performance computing clusters (managed by slurm)
If interested, please submit a cover letter and CV (including contact information for three references) to Rob Massatti (rmassatti@usgs.gov). This position is open until filled but applications received by December 3rd will receive full consideration.