Research Ecologist, Temperate Forests - ForestGEO Program

OPEN DATE: September 28, 2026

CLOSING DATE: October 30, 2026

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund APPOINTMENT TYPE:  Temporary, Not to Exceed 3 years with the possibility of extension contingent upon the availability of funding

DUTY LOCATION: Edgewater, Maryland *The position requires domestic and international travel of approximately one to two months per year, including participation in field research activities in temperate forest environments. *

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-Sensitive/ Low Risk

Open to all qualified applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States.  Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

The Research Ecologist, Temperate Forests position operates at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), located in Edgewater Maryland, and supports ForestGEO, a pan-Smithsonian program focused on global forest diversity and function, led by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). SERC and STRI are two of nine Smithsonian research centers, with complementary research programs advancing our understanding of environmental change, biodiversity, ecosystem function, and resilience across temperate and tropical systems, respectively.

The primary responsibilities of this position are to build and strengthen collaborations among ForestGEO temperate-zone sites, with an emphasis on U.S. forests, while establishing and maintaining an independent research program in temperate forest ecology. Collaborative responsibilities include leading the implementation of the GEO-TREES initiative in the United States and fostering research collaborations that leverage SERC’s forest research resources and the broader ForestGEO network.

ForestGEO plots are managed by a voluntary consortium of research institutions, forestry agencies, and universities, with each responsible for managing and overseeing long-term censuses of woody species in a dedicated, large-scale research plot. These long-term censuses provide a foundation for a broader range of complementary research that leverages ForestGEO sites, infrastructure, data, and scientific networks to address emerging questions in forest ecology and global change. Developing and fostering such complementary research is an important component of this position and will help maximize the scientific value and impact of the ForestGEO network.

In addition to advancing collaborative research initiatives, the incumbent conducts independent research in forest ecology, applying advanced theories, principles, and methodologies. Leveraging the ForestGEO network, including the SERC Forest Dynamics Plot, as well as complementary research programs at SERC and other institutions, the incumbent contributes to the scientific understanding of temperate forest ecosystems, with a particular focus on forests within the United States.

To learn more about SERC, ForestGEO and STRI, and their research activities, click the highlighted names to view their individual webpages.

The selected candidate advances the mission of ForestGEO and SERC through the performance of the following duties and responsibilities:

Research

• Designs and develops a recognized research program related to the ecology of temperate forests, with an emphasis on one or more of the following: species biology, community and population ecology, remote sensing, global change science, and ecosystem ecology.
• Independently performs all phases of the complete research process, including problem definition, planning, execution, analysis, and interpretation of findings. The research involves development of formal conceptual and quantitative analyses that incorporate state-of-the-art approaches for measuring patterns of variation, and statistically rigorous analytical designs; requires the development of new methods for its particular field.
• Prepares scholarly publications of a descriptive and theoretical nature, which will answer important questions in appropriate scientific fields that account for previously unexplained phenomena and represent an important contribution to the validation or modification of scientific theory or methodology in the areas of research.
• Requires the application of advanced scientific expertise and independent judgment in formulating hypotheses, refining research methods, and translating findings into meaningful contributions to the field of forest ecology.

Research Support Administration

• Responsible for the planning, inception and definition phases of innovative research, exploratory development, demonstration and validation.
• Plans overall efforts including work plans, costs/budgets, facilities, time schedules, technical coordination, safety, security, surety and non-surety evaluations to accomplish R&D efforts.
• Seeks resources both internal and external via grants, donations, and other awards to support ForestGEO, SERC, and GEO-TREES programs in temperate forest science.
• Development and funding of research proposals for ForestGEO and SERC programs using next-generation methods for studying forest biology, and periodically restructuring and prioritizing research objectives and tasks.
• Develops and guides future research directions for the ForestGEO and GEO-TREES Temperate Forest Programs and establishes strategic scientific priorities that influence broader research agendas within the forest ecology community.
• Coordinates and supports periodic plot censuses, ensures high-quality data, facilitates plot access and data sharing, fosters collaboration that encourages broad use of the regional networks and complementary research programs, maintains strong relationships with SERC, ForestGEO, and GEO-TREES partner institutions, and seeks financial support to advance these initiatives.
• Represents ForestGEO and SERC on committees.
• Provides scientific advice and consultation to scientific institutions, and professional organizations on matters involving forest ecology, biodiversity, and global environmental change.
• Collaborates with scientific researchers from around the world to encourage and promote studies of interest to SI.
• Participates in scientific meetings and symposia and develops scientific papers for presentations.
• Corresponds with scholars and other members of the scientific community involved in the same or similar research.
• Seeks resources both internal and external to support continued growth and development of the project via grants, donations and other awards.

Training and Outreach

• Communicates complex technical concepts and data both orally and in writing to diverse audiences, including scientific publications.
• Pursues external funding to support the m