Employment
Work with Us at NCEAS!
NCEAS is a research institute affiliated with UCSB, but located ten miles south in downtown Santa Barbara. Note that both staff and academic candidates must apply for jobs through the official UC Santa Barbara websites, provided below for each current job opening. NCEAS is committed to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in environmental data science and is especially interested in candidates who can support the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching, and service.
Learn more about working at NCEAS on our Welcome Website >
As part of the UC system, NCEAS is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Current Job Openings
Expected Salary: $70,000 - $85,000
Apply on the UCSB recruitment website
Are you passionate about science communication and storytelling to broad and diverse audiences? Do you want to support and promote more awareness of cutting-edge environmental science programs and data science initiatives? Do you excel at connecting people and ideas and strategically building communication and outreach networks?
We seek a Lead Science Communicator to join the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), working with our Executive Director, Deputy Director and other NCEAS staff and scientists to shepherd communication and outreach around our portfolio of programs. In this position you will lead science storytelling and manage all external communications at NCEAS. The position is based in downtown Santa Barbara at NCEAS.
For more details and to apply visit: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02895
Expected Salary: $70,000 - $80,000
Apply on the UCSB recruitment website
We seek a collaborative, creative, and motivated Environmental Data Science Instructor to join our NCEAS Learning Hub team. The NCEAS Learning Hub's mission is to support environmental scientists throughout their data science journey. We teach core data science curriculum, facilitate collaborative learning, and promote best practices in open science through a diverse portfolio of in-person and virtual trainings. The Training Program Manager will be responsible for leading training events, developing and maintaining curricula, facilitating synthesis science research, and supporting the growth of our environmental data science training programs.
The trainings offered by the Learning Hub vary in style (e.g., hour-long workshops, multi-day in-person events), focus (e.g., R, Git, data management, open science, team science, Python), and audience (e.g., graduate students, researchers, industry and agency representatives). This position will play a crucial role in developing training opportunities that address the needs of environmental scientists and professionals, helping them to stay on top of the changing landscape of these fields. The position will also support our full portfolio of Learning Hub programs, such as our introductory to environmental data science course, coreR, and contribute to training efforts led by projects housed at NCEAS, such as the Gulf Ecosystem Initiative, Arctic Data Center, Morpho Initiative, and the LTER Network Office among others.
For more details and to apply visit: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02905
Expected Salary: $70,000 - $80,034
Apply on the UCSB recruitment website
The Gulf Ecosystem Initiative (GEI), a partnership between the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and The NOAA RESTORE Science Program seeks to fill two postdoctoral positions focused on addressing critical, interdisciplinary, environmental questions in the Gulf of Mexico. As a GEI postdoc you will be joining a dynamic and growing cohort of postdoctoral fellows for a two-year research position based at NCEAS in Santa Barbara, California.
The GEI partnership is designed to engage the Gulf of Mexico research community in tackling pressing scientific and societal challenges focused around three emerging research themes: fisheries; climate change; and the ecological impact of management actions. This postdoc position will offer you opportunities to not only conduct your own independent research, but also participate in the research of one or more funded synthesis science working groups currently being solicited (to be awarded by June 2025). You will split your time between supporting and collaborating with one or more working groups and developing your own independent synthesis project focused on a specific challenge facing the Gulf of Mexico.
For more details and to apply visit: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02894
Expected Salary: $65,000 - $70,000
Apply on the UCSB recruitment website
As a successful Data Analyst, you will use your analytical skills and knowledge to support the development of a suite of indicators and a comprehensive indicator framework to quantitatively measure wildfire resilience at scales applicable to management. This position will give you significant opportunities to hone and apply a diverse analytical skillset and work at the critical interface of ecological synthesis science and applied management solutions. Guided by an expert working group and in partnership with the project team, you will participate in the Index development and synthesis process. You will contribute to the development of data pipelines and reproducible analytical workflows to integrate heterogeneous sources of data (tabular, geographic, remote sensing, etc.) for the project team, with a particular focus on machine learning and AI-accelerated analytical processes. You will also gather, organize, and document code and data processes involved in calculating the WWRI and work with the WWRI Web Developer to create interactive data visualizations and compelling infographics. Preference is for someone who can start by Feb. 1, 2025 but we are open to other start dates.
For more details and to apply visit: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02898
Research Software Developer
Due Date: On-going
Expected Salary: $77,000 - $94,140
Apply on the UCSB recruitment website
Duties of this research software developer are conducted at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS; http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/ecoinformatics/) at UC Santa Barbara to create a national software infrastructure for management and analysis of ecological and environmental data. Projects focus on novel approaches to sharing data and scientific products to enable open and reproducible science and facilitate synthetic research. Principal duties include: design and development for cloud, web-based, and desktop scientific data management and analysis software; web-design and development for sites and applications, including design of web service programming interfaces; and creation of end-user documentation and training materials. Software development will include data management and analysis systems using technologies such as linked open data, semantic search, and ontology engineering to solve challenging data discovery and integration problems spanning the environmental and earth sciences. In addition to technical design and development, duties also encompass communication and outreach to the international science community to promote the software and systems through writing, speaking, and training at, for example, scientific conferences and open science events. Duties also include technical collaboration on system design and development for specific grant-funded projects, including collaboration with researchers and engineers spanning a diverse set of partner institutions.
Application Review Begins: 1/7/25
Applicant Resources
-
Remote Work
NCEAS' philosophy generally values in-person over remote work to encourage productive conversation and collaboration. For all employees, we offer flexibility with hybrid schedules. Any positions that are open to remote work will be advertised as such.
-
No Negotiation Policy
We do not allow salary negotiation during the hiring process. This decision is grounded in our commitment to creating an inclusive and equitable space for all. We will offer all candidates the maximum possible salary that the position will allow given the candidate's skills, experience, and funding available.
Learn More
What can I negotiate?
We do not allow salary negotiations. We are also unable to provide support for relocation costs or bonuses. Please see above for more details our salary and remote policies. Benefits, including healthcare, dental, and retirement, are highly competitive and provided by UCSB. Academic positions, including postdocs, accrue two days of vacation and one day of sick leave per month while staff positions get one day of sick time and vacation that scales with length of employment. You are welcome to negotiate the following after the job offer: job title, start date, percentage time, and, if appropriate, hybrid schedule.
Other Positions
-
Ocean Health Index Internships
The Ocean Health Index project annually seeks three motivated fellows to work with our team to conduct the annual global Ocean Health Index assessment! This is a paid position working part time from May to June and full time from June to September.
Learn More -
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
In addition to project specific postdoctoral research opportunities, NCEAS is happy to host postdoctoral fellows through programs like NSF, UC Presidential Fellows, UCSB Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellows, Smith Fellows and more.
Learn More