Postdoctoral Associate in Marine Ecosystem Modeling

Postdoc Aso

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is creating an environment that affirms community across all dimensions. We particularly welcome applicants who can contribute to such an environment through their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and professional service. If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call 352-392-2477 or the Florida Relay System at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or visit Accessibility at UF .

We are seeking a highly motivated post-doctoral researcher to develop ecosystem models and analyses to support fisheries management decisions.  Join a growing lab, where we develop advanced population and ecosystem models to address real-world challenges in fisheries and natural resource management.  Our work is highly quantitative and applied, and seeks to understand how fish stocks and marine ecosystems respond to fishing and environmental change.  In doing so, we aim to bridge the gap between ecosystem science, stock assessment, and management, while also advancing ecological theories and concepts. We hope to recruit postdoctoral associates and students with broad interests in marine ecology, ecosystem modeling, fisheries stock assessment, food web ecology, species distribution modeling, applied mathematics, and fisheries management.

The postdoctoral associate will have the opportunity to work on one or more high-profile projects, including: assessing ecosystem impacts of red tides on the West Florida Shelf; developing spatially explicit models to support management of Atlantic menhaden; investigating declines in reef fish abundance in the U.S. South Atlantic region; and coupling marine ecosystem models with ocean climate models.  The successful candidate will grow their professional network by working within a diverse, multidisciplinary group of collaborators consisting of marine ecosystem modelers, ecologists, stock assessment scientists, physical oceanographers, biogeochemical modelers, fisheries monitoring program leaders, federal and state fisheries managers, and commercial/recreational fishery stakeholders.  The postdoctoral associate will also have the opportunity to help recruit and mentor graduate students.  Funding is available for 5 years.

Responsibilities:  We invite applicants for a full-time postdoctoral associate to be held at the University of Florida’s Nature Coast Biological Station, with offices located on UF’s main campus in Gainesville and on the Gulf of Mexico in Cedar Key.  Hybrid work locations can be accommodated.  Responsibilities of the postdoctoral associate may include, but are not limited to, analyzing large datasets on fish, habitat, and water quality;  updating and maintaining existing ecosystem models; developing new models and statistical analyses; developing web applications (rShiny); maintaining code through Github; presenting results at management meetings and professional conferences; mentoring graduate students; data management; and preparing scientific publications, grant reports, and outreach materials.

Salary: Salary is commensurate with experience, with annual increases each year for satisfactory performance.   Paid leave is accrued at a rate of 5 hours bi-weekly for vacation, sickness, or injury.  Benefits include optional retirement, health, dental, vision, and disability insurance. 

Start Date: Negotiable, as soon as possible.

The University of Florida is a Land-Grant, Sea-Grant, and Space-Grant institution, encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, with an enrollment of more than 56,000 students.  UF is a member of The Association of American Universities.  The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences includes the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences , the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station , the Florida Cooperative Extension Service , the College of Veterinary Medicine , the Florida Sea Grant program, and encompasses 16 on-campus academic departments and schools, 12 Research and Educational Centers (REC) located throughout the state, 6 Research sites/demonstration units administered by RECs or academic departments, and Florida Cooperative Extension Service offices in all 67 counties (counties operate and maintain). The School of Natural Resources and Environment is an interdisciplinary unit housed in IFAS and managed by several colleges on campus.  UF/IFAS employs nearly 4,500 people, which includes approximately 990 salaried faculty and 1,400 permanent support personnel located in Gainesville and throughout the state. IFAS, one of the nation’s largest agricultural and natural resources research and education organizations, is administered by a Vice President and four deans: the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the Dean for Extension and Director of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, the Dean for Research and Director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Dean for the College of Veterinary Medicine.  UF/IFAS also engages in cooperative work with Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.

Commensurate with Education and Experience

• A Doctorate degree (PhD) (foreign equivalent acceptable)
• in an environmental science such as marine science, fisheries, ecology, oceanography, or related fields.
• Interest in fisheries ecology, marine ecosystem modeling, species distribution modeling, and mathematical modeling with applications to natural resource management.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively to meet project deliverables.
• Must be proficient in R. 
• Written and oral communication skills, demonstrated by publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at professional conferences.
• A commitment to foster inclusion and working relationships with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, nationalities, and identities.
• Candidates must also have a commitment to UF core values of excellence, discovery & innovation, inclusion, freedom & civility, community, and stewardship. 

• Knowledge and experience with ecosystem and food web models, fish population dynamic models and stock assessment, species distribution models, and geospatial analysis of large fisheries and environmental datasets
• Experience working in collaborative, multidisciplinary projects and interacting with resource managers.
• Experience with the Ecopath and Ecosim software is preferred.
• Experience developing R shiny apps and open science tools (GitHub).
• Experience in linear and non-linear modeling (GLMs, GAMs), spatial-temporal data analysis, and analysis of gridded spatial data.
• Familiarity with the Gulf of Mexico marine ecosystem.
• Experience in project management and leading interdisciplinary research teams.

Application must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date.

• Individuals wishing to apply should go online to Careers at UF and submit:
• Cover letter explaining how previous academic and research experiences are relevant to the advertised position
• Curriculum vitae
• Contact information (including email addresses) for 3 professional references

For additional information on the position, please contact:

Dr. David Chagaris

UF/IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station

[email protected]

Selected candidate will be required to provide an official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible.  Degrees earned from an education institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) .

Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the US. The University of Florida is a public institution and subject to all requirements under Florida Sunshine and Public Record laws.

The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Institution. The University and greater Gainesville community enjoy a variety of cultural events, restaurants, year-round outdoor recreational activities, and social opportunities.