Statistician (PhD)

Job Description

Job Description *Position is Subject to Contract Award POSITION DESCRIPTION:Description of Duties:Provide statistical analysis to inform management decisions.Statistically analyze spatial and temporal variability in processes experienced by migrating salmon in river systems, especially survival and migration patterns through hydropower systems and across life cycles.Analyze and generate relationships between fish responses (density, growth, survival, migration rate) and stressors in particular life stages.Develop novel probabilistic mathematical and simulation models representing complex ecological and behavioral processes with modern statistical methods.Provide statistical support to other researchers during study design and analysis; organize and curate ecological datasets relevant to mark-recapture modeling.Document and share reproducible workflows and analytical protocols; publish reports and scientific papers and present at regional/national meetings and conferences.Assist with field collection of fish and environmental data as needed (may involve riding in vehicles and/or boats). EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:Required:Education: PhD from an accredited college/university with a major related to the task order, with emphasis in statistics, mathematics, fisheries, ecology, or the natural sciences. Must have a strong quantitative background with a solid foundation and extensive coursework in statistics and probability.Experience: Ten (10) or more years of experience related to the task order, including familiarity with the species and habitats managed by NOAA Fisheries in the West Coast region.Desired:Knowledge and experience in Bayesian statistics and mark-recapture methods is strongly preferred.Advanced degree in a related field - may substitute for two (MS) or four (PhD) years of experience CERTIFICATIONS:Required:Valid U.S. driver's license - required and maintained throughout the period of performance.Public trust suitability; background investigation cleared prior to beginning performance.Government -required training to be completed within 5 business days of start: NOAA IT Security, NOAA Safety, Sexual Assault/Sexual Harassment Prevention & Response (NAM View phone number on us.fitly.work(b)(6)), and Records Management 101. RESPONSIBILITIES:Required (Deliverables):All analyses conducted with accepted methods and QA/QC.Reproducible analytical workflows documented; statistical scripts and methodologies shared via open-science platforms (e.g., GitHub).Analysis products archived accessibly; final data and models shared via public scientific repositories or interactive research dashboards.Published scientific papers and reports; regular communication with team members.Written status reports and other ad hoc communications; participation in field tasks as needed. SKILLS: Required:Extensive experience in statistical modeling and data analysis; extensive experience conducting analyses and coding in R.Experience with programs Stan and JAGS; experience with open-science concepts.Strong computational skills, including ability to manipulate large environmental datasets within a command-line environment (e.g., Linux/shell scripting).Familiarity interpreting or interfacing with C or C++ code within a scientific modeling context; familiarity with Google Suite and Microsoft Office.Excellent verbal and written communication; experience writing reports and publishing peer-reviewed articles; able to work independently and on interdisciplinary teams