Junior Research Assistant

Junior Research Assistant

Fixed Term (Fixed Term) Position

$25.05, per hour

Hourly Pay Frequency

Position Purpose

Geospatial lab and field assistant to support assessments of water use and water contamination in the Central Valley and the Central Coast, under the Rose Foundation project "Assessing nitrate and metal contamination in drinking water for historically marginalized communities in the Central Valley and along the Central Coast of California". and the Next10 funded project "How does the rapid rise in data centers for generative AI impact water availability in California's most vulnerable regions?"

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

All of the areas below will be conducted under the direction and guidance of the supervisor.

1. Field Work

Under the direction of the supervisor, the research assistant will participate in field work, collecting water samples from wells, interviewing residents, conducting archival research.

2. Geospatial Analysis

Under the direction of the supervisor the research assistant will contribute to geospatial analysis tasks, including generating interpolation and interactive maps, trend analysis, visualizations, story maps.

3. Writing Support

Under the direction of the supervisor, the research assistant will conduct searches of the scientific literature at the request of the supervisor and summarize findings, including posting articles to online repositories. They will also summarize findings from the Water and Climate Justice lab for articles and reports.

General Guidelines

• Follows instructions, safety and ethical protocols.
• Identifies and determines cause of problems; develops and presents recommendations for improvement of established processes and practices.
• Maximizes productivity through use of appropriate tools.
• Researches and develops resources that create timely and efficient workflow.
• Prepares progress reports, informs supervisor of project status and deviation from goals. Ensures completeness, accuracy and timeliness of all operational functions.
• Prepares and submits written or oral reports as requested and required.
• Develops and implements standard operating procedures to support the functions of the laboratory.
• Performs data collection tasks efficiently and with precision.

Qualifications

1. Knowledge

Basic knowledge of field work, including techniques for well water sampling. Knowledge of ethics procedures in the context of conducting research with human subjects (IRB protocols). General knowledge of water flow, water contamination, and water resource management in California (i.e. has taken ENVS 160 Water Resources or similar course)

2. Skills

Experience in ArcGIS, R coding, and data visualization. Strong writing and critical thinking skills. Good organizational skills and comfort working with community residents.

3. Abilities

• Once instructions and guidance are received, ability to work independently.
• Ability to follow established lab protocols.
• Work cooperatively as part of a research team, including regular progress reports to supervisor and other members of the Water and Climate Justice lab.
• Keep detailed records of work in shared drive
• Ability to drive and visit field places

4. Education

• B.S. degree in environmental studies or sciences, or closely aligned field, preferred.

5. Years of Experience

• 1 year of undergraduate research experience required

Physical Demands

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the California Fair Employment & Housing Act, and all other applicable laws, SCU provides reasonable accommodations for qualified persons with disabilities. A qualified individual is a person who meets skill, experience, education, or other requirements of the position, and who can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

• Considerable time is spent driving in the field, walking on uneven terrain to collect water samples
• Considerable time is spent at a desk using a computer terminal.
• May be required to travel to other buildings on the campus.
• May be required to travel to field sites within California

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Work will be in communities of the Central Valley and the Central Coast and in a typical low-hazard computer lab (spatial analysis lab, SCDI 4018) environment. Some tasks can be performed remotely.