Junior Specialist/Research Assistant Position Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis

This position will focus on determining how an interaction between environmental conditions and management/restoration practices influence plant community dynamics and multiple soil ecosystem services in California grasslands.

Job duties primarily include:
– 30% Field work (establishing, maintaining and sampling field plots).
Sampling includes vegetation composition and numerous soil properties and processes. This requires:
*    Ability to do physically intensive work, often under wet/cold or
hot/dry conditions (e.g. taking soil cores, implementing restoration trials, plot set up, running irrigation pumps, operating brush hogs)
*    Ability to drive, including on rough dirt roads. Occasional long
days/ overnight trips to the field are required.
– 50% Lab work (processing and analyzing plant and soil samples). This
requires:
*    Precision in working with chemicals and analytical equipment, as
well as trouble shooting abilities
*    Maintenance of laboratory equipment
– 10% Data entry and management
– 10% Lab organization (overseeing the logistics of running the lab –e.g.
managing chemical inventory, safety protocols, hazardous waste removal).
This requires:
*    Careful attention to rules and protocols
*    Management of space and resources across multiple users of the lab
(yourself, graduate students, undergraduate students)
*    Supervision of undergraduate students
*    Training undergraduate and graduate students in protocols, safety

Preference will be given to those applications with experience with plant identification, soil sampling, and lab chemistry.

This is a one-year position (with possibility of extension, depending on performance and funding).

Requirements: At least a BA or BS in plant ecology, soils, general ecology, or related discipline. Previous field and lab experience. Ability to spend occasional long days/ over night trips to the field. Ability to drive.
Ability to work independently, organize personnel, time, and budgets across multiple projects. Ability to lead the logistics of multiple projects is critical.

Application: Submit a letter of interest, CV, and contact information for 3 references to:
Valerie Eviner
veviner@ucdavis.edu
530-752-8538