Position Description

Natural Resources & the Environment

Senior Research Associate 

 The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is a pioneer of purpose-driven science and Cornell University’s second largest college. We work across disciplines to tackle the challenges of our time through world-renowned research, education, and outreach. The questions we probe and the answers we seek focus on three overlapping concerns: We believe that achieving next-generation scientific breakthroughs requires an understanding of the world’s complex, interlocking systems. We believe that access to nutritious food and a healthy environment is a fundamental human right. We believe that ensuring a prosperous global future depends on the ability to support local people and communities everywhere. By working in and across multiple scientific areas, CALS can address challenges and opportunities of the greatest relevance, here in New York, across the nation, and around the world.

Position Function

The Senior Research Associate will lead planning, conducting, and reporting original research on the ecology and management of fish populations in Adirondack ecosystems, as part of the Adirondack Fishery Research Program (AFRP) team. The mission of the AFRP is to inform fishery and environmental management to safeguard Adirondack aquatic ecosystems. This position serves as the primary liaison between the AFRP, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and a longstanding network of private cooperators. Our work builds upon nearly 75 years of fishery and ecological data, including decades of whole-lake manipulations (liming, fish stocking, invasive species control) coupled with long-term surveys of environmental conditions, fish populations, and angler catches.

Duties will include oversight of the Little Moose Field Station near Old Forge, New York.  The field station encompasses an experimental fish hatchery, lab space, and temporary housing for AFRP staff and students. Our field operations run from mid-April through mid-November each year, and technical staff based in both Ithaca and Old Forge handle most day-to-day operations. This position could be based in either location, thereby offering scheduling flexibility to balance responsibilities in both places. Supervision of technical staff and summer interns will be expected, as well as effective collaboration with the AFRP Director and our dynamic team of postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates. Service to Adirondack stakeholders through education and outreach efforts is also expected.

The Senior Research Associate will help to shape AFRP research priorities, lead analyses and publications, and mentor students and postdocs.  In addition to assisting with reporting to funders, the position will entail contributing as co-PI or PI to new extramural grant proposals that partially support research expenses and staffing, including this position. The Senior Research Associate is the most visible member of the AFRP to many of our partners, hence maintaining and strengthening these relationships is a key role.

There will be opportunities for the position to develop new research directions as well as analyzing historical data and archival samples. The AFPR team operates as a small but mighty collaborative, and our research agenda is responsive to the interests of state, federal, and private partners. Our recent work ranges from food web ecology to phenology and from biogeochemistry to invasion ecology, and we leverage long-term data by using 21^st-century tools to test key hypotheses about the effects of environmental changes on aquatic ecosystem health and fishery outcomes. We seek a colleague who will be excited both to pursue synergistic environmental research and to work closely with stakeholders to translate findings into effective management interventions.

The position entails a full-time appointment with an initial one-year term, with subsequent reappointment contingent on availability of funding and satisfactory work performance. This is intended to be a long-term position that facilitates sustained research on environmental change and ensures continuity of relationships with partners. We especially encourage applicants who desire a stable position rather than a stepping stone. The Department of Natural Resources & the Environment at Cornell has a strong community of Senior Research Associates who are accorded comparable respect and visibility to tenure-stream faculty.

Anticipated Division of Time

As field station leader for the AFRP, this position entails a wide variety of tasks that must be scheduled dynamically to meet program and partner needs.

Scientific insight and innovation: 35% This position must function as a high-caliber scientist within our collaborative team. Day-to-day activities will draw upon diverse skills in aquatic ecology and fisheries science as our team collects long-term data and launches new initiatives.  The Senior Research Associate will serve as the primary manager of program data, including multi-decade monitoring of fish populations and environmental conditions, and will contribute to statistical analyses supporting a range of studies. There will be ample opportunity to leverage experience, creativity, and new methods to continue the AFRP tradition of innovative applied research. Outputs from these scientific activities should include contributing to grant proposals, publications, and presentations in both leadership and supporting roles.

Personnel management: 30% Overseeing AFRP staff and trainees as they pursue program research priorities is essential for meeting both team and individual goals. The program prides itself on collaborative decision making and stage-appropriate empowerment of all team members. The Senior Research Associate will collaborate with the faculty director on training and supervising team members ranging from high school students to long-term technicians. Our research capacity relies in part on summer interns, who are overseen entirely by this position. There will be regular opportunities to supervise or co-supervise postdoctoral researchers and graduate students as well.

Field station management: 20% AFRP’s work relies on a wide array of procedures and facilities, and this position will be responsible for maintaining protocols, equipment, and facilities.  Maintaining safe and efficient field and hatchery operations requires quickly identifying and solving problems as they arise. Adhering to safety protocols and procedures in cooperation with Cornell’s Office of Occupational & Environmental Health is expected (e.g. chemical safety and inventories; facility safety inspections), including training new staff and students on safe practices and proper use of scientific equipment. This position also will be responsible for ensuring high standards of care for research animals, including maintaining approved IACUC protocols.

Fundraising and reporting: 15% The faculty director has primary responsibility for fundraising, but this position is expected to contribute to both securing grants and reporting results to funders. The program budget relies in part on donations from private organizations and individuals, and the Senior Research Associate plays a key role in nurturing those relationships. There will be opportunities for a leadership role in pursuing new funding opportunities, when appropriate.

Required Qualifications

• Ph.D. in fisheries science, aquatic ecology, limnology, or a related discipline
• At least 2 years of postdoctoral experience conducting empirical research on freshwater fisheries
• Evidence of ability to collaborate successfully with fellow researchers across disciplinary boundaries and the spectrum of professional development stages
• Evidence of ability to collaborate successfully with management agencies and other stakeholders in conducting and applying research results to practical challenges
• Experience building, maintaining, and analyzing large environmental datasets
• Evidence of ability to attract extramural research funding
• Must have and maintain a valid and unrestricted NYS Drivers’ License and be cleared to drive for University business. Individual will be registered with Agile/Fleet Commander.

Additional Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience managing a field station or other complex field research operations
• Experience managing a fish hatchery and/or fish stocking operations
• Experience leading outreach and education events for public audiences
• Experience co-producing research projects with state or federal agency staff
• Experience maintaining relationships with private landowners or interest groups
• Demonstrated interest in addressing climate change, species invasions, and other current challenges facing temperate lake fisheries
• Experience studying lake and river ecosystems in the Adirondacks or other lake districts

Supervision Exercised

As field station leader for the AFRP, this position will serve as the primary supervisor for at least one long-term technician. Additional engagement and oversight of AFRP-affiliated postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students is also expected.  

To apply:

Please apply via Academic Jobs Online https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31457.

Required application materials include the following:

• 2-page cover letter summarizing qualifications and motivations for applying
• Current curriculum vitae
• 3-page statement of research interests and accomplishments
• Names and contact information for three professional references
• PDFs of three relevant publications

All application materials should be submitted via the link above, but a secondary message to AFRP Director Pete McIntyre (pbm3@cornell.edu) will be appreciated as well. Review of applications will begin on 1 February 2026, and continue until the position is filled.

Preliminary inquiries are highly encouraged, and should be directed to Pete McIntyre by email (pbm3@cornell.edu) using the subject line “AFRP SRA search.”

The salary for this position is $90,000.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

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