at The University of Texas at Austin
Full TimeJob Posting Title:
Conservation Data Scientist----
Hiring Department:
College of Natural Sciences----
Position Open To:
All Applicants----
Weekly Scheduled Hours:
40----
FLSA Status:
Exempt----
Earliest Start Date:
Jan 01, 2025----
Position Duration:
Expected to Continue Until Dec 31, 2026----
Location:
UT MAIN CAMPUS----
Job Details:
This position ends two-years from initial hire date. The position will include a full-time benefits package.
Security sensitive; criminal background check conducted on selected candidate. Hiring decision is contingent upon applicant successfully clearing background check.
The Conservation Data Scientist will work with the University of Texas Insect Collection Curator and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife to aggregate, filter, and analyze publicly available biodiversity data on Texas invertebrate species, with the goal of presenting a set of estimated conservation status metrics and related tools on a public website.
Data aggregation, filtering, and analysis
Creation of a public-facing portal
Coordination with collaborating teams
Public outreach
Assist the UT Insect Collection in public outreach events, conduct incidental curation work in the UT Insect Collection related to data correction and improvement.
Bachelor's degree and 4 years of related experience.
Have created interactive websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (or TypeScript), and can provide examples.
Experience with at least one statically typed language such as TypeScript, Java, C, C++, Pascal
Familiarity with R
Comfortable with command line usage on Unix/Linux
Comfortable using git and GitHub for version control
Creative and confident problem solver
Good communication skills
Able to work independently with minimal supervision
Able to decompose large projects into manageable pieces
Experience, including college-level coursework, in field biology, conservation, entomology, natural history collections, or related field.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.
Bachelor's degree in entomology, biology, museum studies, or a related field.
More than 4 years experience in conservation biology, field biology, biodiversity, or related field.
Familiarity with the basic functions of natural history collections.
Have written programs for Node.js (can just list Node.js; for leveraging existing cave code)
Experienced with TypeScript, Python, Nginx website deployment, and writing unit tests with Jest or Vitest (can just list Jest or Vitest)
Experienced with full stack web development:
Experienced with a reactive frontend framework such as Svelte, React, Vue, or Angular
Experienced with a backend framework such as Express, Django, Flask, Spring, Laravel, Rails
Experienced developing REST APIs
Experienced with relational databases and SQL
Experienced automating frontend testing such as via Cypress, Playwright, or Puppeteer
$73,000+ depending on qualifications
May work around standard office conditions
May work around chemicals
Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
Flexible: 40 hours/week is required, and most of this time should be during normal business hours (e.g., 9:00am-5:00pm), although numbers of hours/day and days/week can be negotiated and may change depending on what projects are being pursued.
Resume/CV
Letter of interest
3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
1 letter of recommendation
Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.
Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.
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Employment Eligibility:
Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.----
Retirement Plan Eligibility:
The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.----
Background Checks:
A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.
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Equal Opportunity Employer:
The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.
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Pay Transparency:
The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.
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Employment Eligibility Verification:
If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.
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E-Verify:
The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:
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Compliance:
Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.
The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.
