Research Fellow or Research Assistant in Environmental Data Science

Organisation

Cranfield University

School/Department

School of Water, Energy and Environment

Based at

Cranfield Campus, Cranfield, Bedfordshire

Hours of work

37 hours per week, normally worked Monday to Friday. Flexible working will be considered.

Contract type

Fixed term contract

Fixed Term Period

36 months

Salary

Full time starting salary is normally £35,559 per annum (Research Fellow) or £32,810 per annum (Research Assistant)

We welcome applications from passionate, skilled, and committed data scientists to join Cranfield Environment Centre to develop transformational environmental research.

About the Role

We are looking for a Research Assistant or Research Fellow in Environmental Data Science to join the Cranfield Environment Centre (CEC ), and work on several exciting new projects which deal with challenges posed by environmental change. These include NERC funded Restoring Resilient Ecosystems (RestREco ) which explores novel approaches to restoring resilient ecosystems in a changing climate, and Defragmenting the Fragmented Urban Landscape (DEFRAG) on how urban form affects biodiversity; biological processes and ecosystem services; and OpenGHG which aims to aggregate pre-existing and newly developed models and methods into a platform for data analysis and visualisation of greenhouse gases emissions and potential future warming scenarios.

As a Research Assistant or Research Fellow in Environmental Data Science, you will analyse resilience and complexity concepts on long-term datasets on forest and grassland habitats and how they are changing, and model ecological systems urban environments using new data. Knowledge of data collection, storage, and processing techniques for environmental data (including biological, ecology and/or geospatial data and satellite observations), modelling, programming and machine learning approaches are essential for this role. You will need expertise in modelling and programming to help analyse, optimise, and develop novel techniques for transformational research in ecology.

You will have to liaise and work closely with both the academic and technical team at Cranfield as well as the project teams at other institutions and other project collaborators.

About You

You will hold a PhD (or close to completion) in Data Science or related discipline and be fluent in Data Science techniques and methods, including complexity calculation, and able to develop new approaches. You will have a peer-reviewed publication track record as evidence of the ability to prepare, edit, and submit high quality research outputs.

Extensive research experience in Data Science for environmental monitoring and modelling is essential, as are excellent project and time management skills, and willingness and ability to travel to field sites, with some occasional international travel (e.g., overseas conferences). You must also be enthusiastic about protecting the environment and the impact our research could have solving environmental challenges.

About Us

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here .

The Cranfield Environment Centre (CEC) concentrates leading UK expertise in key fields of data sciences, informatics and decision sciences, coupled with novel sensor technology and informatics development. 

CEC specialises in the development of transformational informatics technology, integrating data gathering and monitoring technologies (sensor tech), data manipulation and interpretation (informatics and data sciences). We include research on air quality and climate change, soil quality, crop growth and monitoring, natural capital, ecosystem goods and services and on urban systems. In this way, CEC articulates the benefits and findings from the data collected, providing a whole system approach to agricultural and environmental informatics.

The role is within the Applied Remote Sensing Group at Cranfield, led by Dr Toby Waine.

Our Values and Commitments

Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here .

We aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together and realise their full potential. We are a Disability Confident Employer and proud members of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme.We are committed to actively exploring flexible working options for each role and have been ranked in the Top 30 family friendly employers in the UK by the charity Working Families . Find out more about our key commitments to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Flexible Working here .

Working Arrangements

Collaborating and connecting are integral to so much of what we do. Our Working Arrangements Framework provides many staff with the opportunity to flexibly combine on-site and remote working, where job roles allow, balancing the needs of our community of staff, students, clients and partners.

How to apply                                    

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact Dr Daniel Simms, Lecturer in Remote Sensing, on (E): [email protected] .

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details on E: [email protected] . Please quote reference number 4304.

Closing date for receipt of applications: 1 December 2022