Postdoctoral Research Scholar

Position Information

The College of Natural Resources (CNR) at North Carolina State University is a world leader in the sustainable use of natural resources. The college’s comprehensive approach to teaching, research, and service encompasses the many and varied ways in which people s physical, economic, and social needs are met through the wise use of natural resources.

The Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources has strengths in forestry and natural resources management, policy and economics, environmental science and technology, wildlife and conservation biology, tree improvement, silviculture, forest biotechnology, and international forestry. The Department has over 90 full-time faculty and staff, and more than 750 undergraduate and 150 graduate students. Collaboration and broad engagement are integral to our mission and commitment to excellence in education, extension, and research.

Faculty, staff, and students work with business, industry, government, community groups, and non-government organizations to address challenges facing our state and the world. These partnerships facilitate research, teaching and learning, and outreach and service. Additional information about the department can be found at (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)./fer
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Duties and Responsibilities

• Creating AI algorithms and workflows for extracting relevant data from large image datasets and integrating this extracted data with environmental information.
• Ensuring the public accessibility of developed AI workflows and software and maintaining computer infrastructure to run these models.

Other Work/Responsibilities

• Presenting research findings at conferences and leading or contributing to peer-reviewed publications, with first authorship strongly encouraged.
• Mentoring undergraduate researchers in the Biodiversity Lab at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, which is on public display.
• Professional development opportunities including training on teaching techniques and career paths, and attending workshops focused on interdisciplinary research, data sharing, and coding.
• Contributing to science communication efforts, including public engagement products like physical exhibits, podcast episodes, and videos.
• Developing and maintaining a project website and ensuring public accessibility of AI workflows and software on platforms such as Git Hub, Hugging Face, PyPi, and Zenodo.
• Leading or collaborating on grant preparation with other team members.
• Attend non-revenue generating sporting events for free.

Disclaimer:
Perks and Benefit eligibility is based on Part-Time or Full-Time Employment status. Eligibility and Employer Sponsored Plans can be found within each of the links offered.

Work Schedule

Work Schedule Monday through Friday 8 AM to 5 PM.

Department Required Skills

• Expertise in developing, implementing, and optimizing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models and algorithms for data analysis and extraction. This includes programming in Python and R to create and manage data workflows and conduct statistical analyses.
• Experience with machine learning frameworks and techniques for image processing and data integration; ability to manage, collate, and integrate large datasets from various sources, including environmental and sensor data.
• Commitment to ensuring the public accessibility of AI workflows and software through code repositories and user-friendly platforms.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills for scientific dissemination and public engagement.

Preferred Years Experience, Skills, Training, Education

Candidates should preferably:

• Hold a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Quantitative Ecology, or a closely related field with a strong emphasis on AI and data science.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and applying computational tools to large-scale scientific problems.
• Familiarity with interdisciplinary research approaches, particularly at the nexus of computer science and environmental or biological sciences.
• An interest in contributing to educational and outreach initiatives and mentoring junior researchers, such as undergraduate students.
• Prior experience in preparing and contributing to scientific…