As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty. 

The Harvey Lab in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington is searching for a full-time Research Scientist/Engineer 4 with topical expertise in forest ecology, fire ecology, and landscape ecology, and methodological expertise in process-based landscape simulation models and connecting information on forest fire effects between remotely-sensed datasets and field measurements.

The candidate will work in close collaboration with Prof. Brian J. Harvey and research and management partnerships with Federal, state, Indigenous, and NGO throughout the Pacific Northwest. The candidate will be integral to several projects that are working with a broad collaboration of scientists and management and agency partners in the region and the western US to understand how forest fire regimes and forest resilience to fire are changing from the combined effects of multiple drivers (e.g., climate change and land management), and how management strategies can foster resilience to fire and other stressors. These projects are supported by grants from, and in partnership with, organizations such as the US Forest Service, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, multiple Indigenous partners in Washington state, the National Park Service, King County (WA), the Joint Fire Science Program, and the Western US Fire Ecology and Forest Resilience Science Collaborative supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The primary job functions are core contributions to the following research projects through roles of leading, co-leading, or collaborating with other lab members and external partners:
• Implementation of the forest landscape simulation model iLand throughout the Pacific Northwest region, including continued parameterization in new sub-regions, refinement of modules (e.g., disturbance and management), coupling with broad-scale state and transition modelling (SVD), and simulations to test hypotheses that support forest / fire ecology insights and management decisions.
• Developing and expanding a burn severity atlas within the Pacific Northwest and more broadly across the western US, where multiple metrics of burn severity that capture the functional landscape of fire effects are mapped from 1984 to current and will be used to explore questions about forest fire regime change, effects on forest resilience, and management outcomes.
• Testing the landscape effectiveness of fuel treatments and forest restoration treatments for altering patterns of burn severity and post-fire forest response under a range of weather conditions.
• Active participation in a collaborative lab group environment, including lab meetings, project meetings, fieldwork (when applicable), partner meetings, and travel to professional meetings and workshops/meetings with collaborators.
• Close coordination with postdoctoral researchers and graduate students who will be collaborating on the above projects.

Opportunities for professional development include (but are not limited to):
• Developing a hub of landscape simulation modeling expertise in the Pacific Northwest that can support science and management of forests regionally and co-develop projects with partners.
• Serving in a mentoring capacity for early career scientists in UW-SEFS, including postdoctoral research scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers.
• Seeking other professional development opportunities as desired by the candidate in a range of dimensions that support the long-term goals of the candidate.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

M.S. degree in ecology or related field and four years of relevant experience OR equivalent combination of education/experience

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

•  Experience developing and executing research projects using forest landscape simulation models
•  Experience in conducting field measurements of forest disturbances, especially forest fires
•  Experience in lead authoring peer-reviewed scientific publications
•  Experience in communicating scientific insights to science and management audiences
•  Commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion

DESIRED:
• 2 or more years of post-doctoral research experience
• Experience in remote sensing (e.g., satellite or UAV) of forest fires
• Experience in, or demonstrated interest in mentoring early-career scientists
• PhD in ecology or related field