{"id":1897,"date":"2026-03-05T14:02:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/?p=1897"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:22:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:22:00","slug":"research-specialist-or-senior-research-specialist-stream-focus-rensselaer-polytechnic-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/2026\/03\/05\/research-specialist-or-senior-research-specialist-stream-focus-rensselaer-polytechnic-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Specialist or Senior Research Specialist (Stream focus) &#8211; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Attention Graduates!<\/strong> Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Is seeking to hire a motivated <strong>full-time<\/strong> Research Specialist or Senior Research Specialist working on The Jefferson Project at Chautauqua Lake.<\/p>\n<p>The Jefferson Project was founded as a multi-disciplinary collaboration between RPI, IBM, and the Lake George Association. It expanded to Chautauqua Lake in 2020 with a partnership with the Chautauqua Institution. The Project emphasizes a sophisticated technological approach to studying freshwater and lakes, in particular. A central goal of the Project is to understand the impact of human activity on freshwater and how to mitigate those effects.<\/p>\n<p>Based out of Fredonia, New York, supervised by Dr. Allison Hrycik, with field work on Chautauqua Lake and its surrounding tributaries and in collaboration with colleagues at Rensselaer, SUNY Fredonia, and elsewhere. Initial main focus of research will be characterizing nutrient loading via streams. Position will also provide multi-disciplinary support to multiple aspects of the project, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Conducting sampling surveys<\/li>\n<li>Maintaining a network of sensors on and around Chautauqua<br \/>\nLake<\/li>\n<li>Assisting with research activities and laboratory work<\/li>\n<li>Potentially traveling to other lakes and field sites in the region. Occasional trips to the Darrin Freshwater Institute in Bolton Landing, New York<br \/>\nand Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York will be expected.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Duties:<br \/>\n\u2022 Conduct field surveys using standard limnological and hydrological field equipment, primarily on tributaries to Chautauqua Lake<br \/>\n\u2022 Assist with laboratory analyses of water samples, including water quality samples<br \/>\n\u2022 Calibrate, deploy, and maintain environmental sensors<br \/>\n\u2022 Maintain accurate records and conform to data management standards<br \/>\n\u2022 Contribute to data quality assurance and checking as part of overall data management and publication efforts<br \/>\n\u2022 Assist with research activities such as data analysis and report and manuscript preparation<\/p>\n<p>Bachelor\u2019s degree in ecology, biology, environmental science, natural resources, or a related discipline is <em>required<\/em>. A Master\u2019s degree is <em>preferred<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Experience\/skills desired:<br \/>\n\u2022 Experience conducting field work in streams, especially constructing rating curves<br \/>\n\u2022 Basic laboratory experience is <em>required<\/em>; familiarity with water chemistry and\/or stream gauging is <em>preferred<\/em><br \/>\n\u2022 Experience deploying, using, and calibrating environmental sensors (e.g., water quality sondes, weather stations, auto samplers, etc.)<br \/>\n\u2022 Well-organized and detail-oriented<br \/>\n\u2022 Knowledge of boat safety as well as some operating\/trailering experience is <em>a plus<\/em><br \/>\n\u2022 Experience with data analysis, visualization, and common statistical approaches<br \/>\n\u2022 Programming experience <em>preferred<\/em><br \/>\n\u2022 A willingness to troubleshoot and own complex problems in the field and in the lab<br \/>\n\u2022 Ability to work outdoors in challenging conditions<br \/>\n\u2022 Occasional travel to other lakes as well as meetings and conferences<br \/>\n\u2022 Some experience with small electronics\/basic wiring and knowledge of basic electrical engineering principles<br \/>\n\u2022 <em>Must<\/em> be able to lift 40 lbs<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><em><strong>Apply now<\/strong><\/em><\/span> at <a href=\"https:\/\/careers.rpi.edu\/en-us\/job\/495508\/energy-environment-and-sustainability-researchers\">https:\/\/careers.rpi.edu\/en-us\/job\/495508\/energy-environment-and-sustainability-researchers<\/a>. Review of applications will begin on <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong><em>Thursday April 2nd, 2026<\/em><\/strong><\/span>, and will continue until the position is filled.<br \/>\nPlease email Allison Hrycik at <a href=\"mailto:hrycia@rpi.edu\">hrycia@rpi.edu<\/a> with questions and check out<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dfwi.rpi.edu\/\">https:\/\/dfwi.rpi.edu\/<\/a> for more information on the Darrin Freshwater Institute.<\/p>\n<p>Applicants to this position may be considered for either a Research Specialist title or Senior Research Specialist title depending on skills, qualifications, and education.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Research Specialist salary range: $37,500 to $55,000<\/li>\n<li>Senior Research Specialist salary range: $62,354 to $66,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Rensselaer also offers a generous benefits package with excellent healthcare, retirement, paid time off, and other benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attention Graduates! Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Is seeking to hire a motivated full-time Research Specialist or Senior Research Specialist working on The Jefferson Project at Chautauqua Lake. The Jefferson Project was&#8230; <a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/2026\/03\/05\/research-specialist-or-senior-research-specialist-stream-focus-rensselaer-polytechnic-institute\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5810,"featured_media":1908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[104696,19699,343973,343921,343924,104781,124988,343964,104698,343898,343899,19717,2185,343971,104777,343954,343972],"tags":[343985,343994,343996,343987,343997,2545,343980,343988,343998,343982,343981,343989,343993,343995,343999,1058,343991,343986,343992,1920,343983,343984,2527,343990],"class_list":["post-1897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aquatics","category-biology","category-collaboration-communication-with-stakeholders","category-data-collection","category-data-management","category-ecology","category-environmental-studies-science","category-field-work","category-full-time","category-habitat-and-biology-assessments","category-hydrology","category-job","category-natural-resources","category-pesticide-and-parasite-transmission","category-research","category-water-quality","category-watershed-management-ecology","tag-analysis","tag-bachelors","tag-boat","tag-data-management","tag-electric","tag-environment","tag-freshwater","tag-hydrological","tag-institutions","tag-laboratory-work","tag-lakes","tag-limnological","tag-manuscript","tag-masters","tag-multi-disciplinary","tag-new-york","tag-publication","tag-records","tag-report","tag-research","tag-sampling","tag-surveys","tag-travel","tag-water-quality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5810"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1897"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1902,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1897\/revisions\/1902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/enstopportunities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}