Avian Field Research Assistant — Data & Modeling

OSU Rec Sports - Sport. Leadership. Wellness.; Corvallis (OR); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Oregon State University seeks a Faculty Research Assistant in Fish & Wildlife to lead ARU-based avian research across the Pacific Northwest, coordinating field crews and analyzing acoustic data. You will identify bird species by sight and sound, validate detections, and contribute to occupancy models while writing reports for peer-reviewed publications.

Qualifications include a bachelor's in wildlife ecology, strong coding in R/Python, and experience with Bayesian models and BirdNet/PNW-Cnet.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Wildlife Ecology or related field.
• Ability to identify birds in the Pacific Northwest by sight and sound.
• Experience coordinating and leading fieldwork.
• Experience with remote fieldwork alone and in teams.
• Ability to conduct independent and collaborative research.
• Ability to meet deadlines and manage workloads independently.
• Proficiency in R and Python.
• Experience developing Bayesian occupancy models.
• Experience processing audio data with BirdNet, PNW-Cnet, or similar.

Responsibilities

• Validate species detections generated by BirdNET and PNW-Cnet against expert identification.
• Manage a large relational database of avian survey data, calls, and audio files.
• Analyze ARU and avian distribution data using R; develop data scripts.
• Contribute to statistical models predicting species detection and occupancy.
• Write reports and co-author manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication.
• Collect field data independently in remote locations with travel.
• Develop field protocols, monitor data quality, summarize outcomes.

Skills

Bird ID by sight and sound

ARU/bioacoustic experience

R

Python

Bayesian occupancy models

Field leadership

Data management

Education

Bachelor's in Wildlife Ecology or related

Master’s preferred

Tools

BirdNet

PNW-Cnet

R

Python

ArcGIS

Excel

Job description

Oregon State University seeks a Faculty Research Assistant in Fish & Wildlife to lead ARU-based avian research across the Pacific Northwest, coordinating field crews and analyzing acoustic data. You will identify bird species by sight and sound, validate detections, and contribute to occupancy models while writing reports for peer-reviewed publications.

Qualifications include a bachelor's in wildlife ecology, strong coding in R/Python, and experience with Bayesian models and BirdNet/PNW-Cnet.