Quantitative Analyst — COMPASS Modeling

*Position is Subject to Contract Award

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

Description of Duties:

• Develop and advance the Comprehensive Passage (COMPASS) model for application in river systems to evaluate effects of stressors and management actions across fish life cycles, using statistical modeling, computer modeling, statistical/quantitative analysis, and other quantitative modeling techniques.

• Construct and implement models evaluating survival and migration through the hydropower system (COMPASS model) to address West Coast Regional Office requests in support of ESA litigation and permitting.

• Collaborate with regional managers and researchers to structure, synthesize, and manage environmental and biological data relevant to modeling needs.

• Document and share reproducible research workflows and analytical products.

• Write reports, contribute to journal manuscripts, and present results at regional and national meetings and conferences, as needed.

• Assist with field collection of fish and environmental data as needed (may involve riding in vehicles and/or boats).

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

Required:

• Education: Bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college/university with a major related to the task order and a strong quantitative background, with emphasis in statistics, mathematics, fisheries, ecology, or the natural sciences.

• Experience: Three (3) or more years of experience related to the task order.

Desired:

• Master's degree 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 1330-52.222-70(b)(6)), and Records Management 101.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Required (Deliverables):

• All analyses conducted with accepted methods and QA/QC.

• Assigned statistical and biological modeling components completed and integrated into COMPASS and life cycle models for the Columbia River basin, and others as needed.

• Reproducible analytical workflows documented; modeling scripts, methods, and results shared via open-science platforms (e.g., GitHub).

• Written status reports and other ad hoc communications; participation in field tasks as needed.

SKILLS:

Required:

• Extensive experience in modeling and data analysis; extensive experience executing statistical analysis and modeling in R, with strong R coding skills.

• Familiarity interpreting or interfacing with C or C++ code within a scientific modeling context.

• Familiarity with common workplace software such as Google Suite and Microsoft Office.
• Excellent communication skills; experience writing reports and contributing to peer-reviewed articles; able to work independently and on interdisciplinary teams.

• Desired:

  • Experience with Bayesian statistical methods and mark-recapture analysis preferred.
  • Computational experience with command-line environments (e.g., Linux/shell scripting) preferred; experience with open-science concepts.
  • Experience with Bayesian modeling programs Stan and JAGS preferred.