The Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management is home to multidisciplinary research programs that recognize the urgency of the challenges—and the enormous opportunities—that may lead to transformative change. We have award-winning faculty in climate science, biodiversity, environmental policy, land use, and community outreach who are all driven by a collective interest in our environmental future.

The Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley, seeks applications for an Assistant/Associate Specialist in the Luong Lab, in the area of restoration and rangeland ecology.

Dr. Justin Luong (PI), is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management (ESPM) within the Rausser College of Natural Resources (RCNR) at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Luong Lab seeks to answer research questions that can directly support restoration practitioners, land managers and private citizens to steward important ecosystems across California. To ensure our work is relevant to practice, our research questions are developed with perspectives from restoration practitioners and natural resource managers. We use a combination of interdisciplinary methods that combine field, greenhouse and social science approaches to address our questions. We also extend our research to practitioners in the form of research briefs, reports, and workshops. At present, we focus our work on California rangelands to help support biodiversity, endangered species conservation, grazing management, mechanisms of functional traits, restorative agrivoltaics, bridging the science-practice gap and plant communities and restoration projects responses to climate stressors and varying land management practices.

This position will coordinate and implement field and lab work, manage and analyze data, and contribute to publications in support of active research projects.

Specific responsibilities include:
• In collaboration with the PI, finalizes study designs for field data collection projects focused on ecological surveys of restoration studies and rangeland management. Coordinate fieldwork by training field crews and managing field crew data collection. Coordinates the field collection of field samples, such as functional traits, for lab processing.
• Leads the laboratory management and processing of field samples and associated data. Assists with the management and analysis of range and restoration science data. This assistance will entail data entry, development of database descriptions, quality control and quality assurance checks, and statistical analysis of key metrics.
• Generates progress reports as needed at quarterly intervals for the relevant projects. Reporting includes tracking the status of deliverables and tasks, and a summary of progress in the format required by the sponsor.
• Contribute to the planning, analysis, and writing of peer-reviewed manuscripts and final reports. These contributions may include the drafting of figures and tables, the analysis of data, editing and proofreading text, and the compilation of references.
• Assists with the development of deliverables tied to Extension projects that are focused on science delivery to practitioners, which can include contributing to the creation of Fact Sheets, Research Briefs, and workshops.

Bachelor's degree or equivalent international degree

Master's degree in related field
Experience publishing a first author paper
Experience mentoring undergraduate researchers
Expertise with California Plant Identification
Proficiency with R Statistical Software or Python for statistical programming
Experience conducting field work in remote locations with harsh environmental conditions
Experience sampling plant physiological traits and morphological functional traits
Experience with data organization and databasing

• 3 required (contact information only)

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

For more information, please refer to the University of California’s Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment