Data Scientist

Data Scientist (Part-Time, 12-Month Contract)

Centre for Applied Ecological Remediation (CAER)

Remote | 25 hours/month | $50/hour | 12-month contract

About CAER

The Centre for Applied Ecological Remediation (CAER) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advancing science-based ecological remediation for contaminated land, water, and waste. We work at the intersection of environmental toxicology, fungal biotechnology, post-disaster response, brownfield restoration, and environmental justice.

Our projects generate complex, multi-layered datasets used for:

• Peer-reviewed scientific publications
• Regulatory reporting and compliance
• Legal and insurance documentation for disaster-affected communities
• Public communication and policy engagement

We are seeking a highly skilled Data Scientist to support advanced analysis and interpretation of integrated environmental datasets.

Position Overview

The Data Scientist will analyze complex, multi-modal datasets integrating:

• Soil physical and chemical properties (temporal and spatial variability)
• Contaminant concentrations (metals, PFAS, VOCs, SVOCs, TPH, etc.) and their changes
• Microbial and fungal community data (including amplicon sequencing datasets)
• Plant and fungal growth & performance metrics
• Environmental and site variables
• Treatment and remediation variables

The role requires strong statistical rigor, the ability to synthesize cross-disciplinary environmental datasets, and experience preparing analyses suitable for publication, regulatory review, and legal documentation.

This is a remote, part-time contract position (25 hours per month for 12 months).

Key Responsibilities

Data Analysis & Modeling

• Perform statistical analysis of environmental and ecological datasets
• Analyze interactions among biological, chemical, and physical variables
• Conduct multivariate analyses (e.g., ordination, PCA, NMDS, PERMANOVA)
• Model treatment effects and remediation outcomes
• Conduct time-series and spatial analyses where relevant
• Work with large datasets, including high-dimensional amplicon data (e.g., ITS, 16S)

Bioinformatics & Microbial Ecology (if applicable)

• Support analysis of microbial community datasets
• Work with relative abundance, diversity indices, differential abundance testing
• Integrate amplicon data with soil chemistry and environmental metadata

Data Management & Coding

• Clean, structure, and manage large datasets
• Write reproducible analysis scripts
• Maintain version-controlled workflows
• Support data documentation for regulatory and publication use

Visualization & Figure Creation

• Produce publication-quality figures
• Generate regulatory-ready tables and graphics
• Develop clear visual outputs for science communication and policy audiences

Interpretation & Reporting

• Contribute to interpretation of statistical results
• Assist in drafting methods and results sections for manuscripts
• Prepare data summaries suitable for regulatory, legal, or insurance documentation
• Collaborate with the Scientific Director on narrative framing of results

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Data Science, Biostatistics, Environmental Science, Ecology, Bioinformatics, or related field
• Demonstrated experience analyzing complex environmental or ecological datasets
• Strong statistical knowledge and applied modeling experience
• Proficiency in R and/or Python
• Experience with:
• Multivariate statistics
• Mixed models
• Microbial community analysis
• Large dataset management
• Ability to produce publication-quality figures
• Strong written communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with environmental and ecological datasets
• Familiarity with regulatory data standards
• Experience supporting peer-reviewed publications
• Experience with:
• Amplicon sequencing workflows
• QIIME2, phyloseq, vegan, DESeq2 or similar tools
• Spatial analysis (GIS integration)
• Understanding of ecological field studies, environmental toxicology or soil science

Contract Details

• Duration: 12 months
• Hours: 25 hours/month (approx. 6–7 hours/week)
• Compensation: $50/hour
• Location: Remote
• Flexible scheduling with periodic coordination meetings

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are seeking someone who:

• Is rigorous and detail-oriented
• Understands the high stakes of regulatory and legal data integrity
• Can translate complex analyses into clear outputs
• Is comfortable working across disciplines
• Values environmental justice and applied ecological science

How to Apply

Please fill out the application form. You will need to submit:

• CV or resume
• Brief cover letter describing relevant experience
• Example of analytical output (figure, manuscript section, or code repository)
• List of statistical or bioinformatics tools you are proficient in

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.