Erin J Questad

A postdoctoral position in Restoration Ecology is available in the lab of Dr. Erin Questad. The postdoc will be involved in a project that examines biodiversity-ecosystem function feedbacks between restoration and agricultural management in the Santa Clara River Valley, CA. The project includes collaborators from UC Santa Barbara, UCANR, CSU Long Beach, the Nature Conservancy, and Cal Poly Pomona (Scordato, Blakey). It will examine the impact of land-use and restoration on plant, arthropod, bird, and mammal communities; as well as biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships. We seek a postdoctoral researcher interested in functional trait approaches to understanding community assembly of multiple taxa and biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships. Due to the large-scale nature of the research an interest in remote sensing is encouraged, but not required. There will be ample opportunity for the postdoc to develop independent research within the broader context of this study. Additional funding for research travel and expenses is available.

The position is for one year and is based at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California. The start date is flexible between July 1 – August 19, 2024. Starting salary is $67,000 with comprehensive healthcare and other benefits provided. Our program has a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Applicants from historically excluded groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Application review will begin May 17, 2024 and will continue until the position is filled. Contact Erin Questad (ejquestad@cpp.edu) for more information.

Essential Duties

• Supervise ongoing restoration ecology field research projects in Southern California
• Participate in manuscript preparation using existing datasets
• Mentor undergraduate and/or master’s students engaged in independent research
• Meet with research collaborators
• To receive State of California benefits, some teaching and/or student mentoring is required (equivalent to 1-2 lab sections per semester)

Qualifications

The postdoc should have research expertise in plant ecology, restoration ecology, or other related area and a demonstrated interest in working with undergraduate and Master’s students from diverse backgrounds.

Basic qualifications (required at time of hire):

• PhD in ecology, forestry, environmental sciences, or another relevant field
• Research experience with field studies in plant/restoration ecology, functional traits, and/or experimental ecology

• Ability to work with a diverse team
• Ability to provide inclusive and culturally sensitive mentoring

Preferred qualifications:

Preference will be given to applicants with

• Publication record, or the potential for developing one
• Strong communication and organizational skills
• Ability to lead, design and conduct robust reproducible science
• Experience using and analyzing remote sensing data
• Prior teaching or mentoring experience

Application Requirements

Please email the following documents as a single pdf file to ejquestad@cpp.edu with the subject “Postdoc application – Last name, First name”.

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter - (2 page max.): explaining why you are interested in this position and what makes you a good candidate for it
• Statement of Contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – (1 page max.) which includes a discussion of past contributions to diversity and future plans for continuing this effort.

• Contact information for at least 3 references

Application review will begin May 17, 2023 and will continue until the position is filled.