*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

USDA Forest Service Office/Lab and Location: A fellowship opportunity is available with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) within the International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF), located in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, or remote. 

At the heart of the USDA Forest Service's mission is their purpose. Everything they do is intended to help sustain forests and grasslands for present and future generations. Why? Because their stewardship work supports nature in sustaining life. This is the purpose that drives the agency’s mission and motivates their work across the agency. It’s been there from the agency’s very beginning, and it still drives them. To advance the mission and serve their purpose, the USDA Forest Service balances the short and long-term needs of people and nature by: working in collaboration with communities and our partners; providing access to resources and experiences that promote economic, ecological, and social vitality; connecting people to the land and one another; and delivering world-class science, technology and land management.

The International Institute of Tropical Forestry (the Institute), headquartered in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, is a research and technology transfer institute that is dedicated to advancing tropical forestry on insular, national, and international levels, and developing and exchanging knowledge critical to sustaining benefits of tropical forests and grasslands.  The IITF mission is to develop and disseminate scientifically based knowledge that contributes to the conservation of forests, wildlife, and watersheds of the American tropics in the context of environmental change. Current foci include silviculture and forest dynamics, wildfire risk management and forest inventory. The Research and Development mission of the USFS is to develop and deliver knowledge and innovative technology to improve management of the Nation's forests and grasslands—both public and private including National Forest lands.

Proposed Project: The participant will conduct landscape-scale research with existing forest inventory and geospatial data to improve techniques and knowledge in one of three priority areas: forest inventory and analysis, timber production and forest dynamics, or wildfire risk management. The focus will be on mixed species forests of the U.S., including but not limited to subtropical zones. Potential topics include research to improve the precision of forest inventory estimates of trends in timber and non-timber forest products with remote sensing and other geospatial data, or to improve forest management and reduce wildfire risk through improved understanding of the dynamics of economically valuable species and invasive species that may compete with economically valuable species or promote wildfire.

Learning Objectives: The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to apply their experience and knowledge to a new geographic area and set of tree species. They will also have opportunities to present analyses and outputs in workshops, seminars, reports and peer-reviewed publications developed and co-authored with mentors and collaborators. Outputs will be shared with forest managers from industry, the public sector, other landowners and other scientists and land managers.

Mentor: The mentors for this opportunity are  Eileen Helmer (eileen.helmer@usda.gov) and Tamara Heartsill-Scalley (tamara.heartsill-scalley@usda.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentors.

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: August 2025.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for at least eleven months but may be extended upon recommendation of USDA Forest Service and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend at the post-doctoral level is $72,000 (11-months). Additionally, the medical and dental insurance supplement is $6,547, and travel support to present research findings is $2,250. 

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR), and foreign nationals. Non-U.S. citizen applicants should refer to the Guidelines for Non-U.S. Citizens Details page of the program website for information about the valid immigration statuses that are acceptable for program participation. Foreign national candidates may have a mandatory in-person requirement depending on visa status.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and USDA Forest Service. Participants do not become employees of USDA, USDA Forest Service, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.USFS.WO@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields. A candidate with a master's degree in applied statistics is also eligible. Degree must have been received within the past five years or is anticipated to be received by August 31st, 2025.

Preferred skills:

• Demonstrated experience in modeling and applied statistics including machine learning, Bayesian statistics, multivariate statistics, model assisted estimation, rarefaction, or wildland fire simulation
• Experience using geospatial data for landscape-scale research
• Strong analytical skills and demonstrated experience with statistical and other programing or code sharing applications including R, python and GitHub
• Strong background in and knowledge of remote sensing with a variety of data sources
• Experience with USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data
• Experience with geospatial data in cloud applications like Google Earth Engine
• Enthusiastic about developing novel research ideas, questions, and approaches
• Strong writing skills and demonstrated experience lead-authoring peer-reviewed publications.
• Ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with research team members
• Experience with peer-reviewed publication
• Knowledge of and experience with data archiving