Research Associate (Nature Futures)

Our mission is to prevent an impending sixth mass extinction – the first in Earth’s history driven by the actions of a single species: ours. Unlike traditional conservation efforts, Conservation X Labs focuses on leveraging the best technology, the newest innovation, interdisciplinary genius, and the power of the marketplace to boldly confront the biggest problems facing the planet. Though humans have driven this sixth extinction, we know humans have the power to reverse it.

About Conservation X Labs

Our mission is to prevent an impending sixth mass extinction, the first in Earth’s history driven by the actions of a single species: ours. Humans have driven this extinction, and we believe humans have the power to reverse it.

CXL solves the world’s greatest conservation problems by supporting innovative solutions that address the underlying drivers of extinction. We develop new technology in our labs, run innovation competitions, and back talented innovators across disciplines to create products that serve both people and the planet.

Role Description

The Nature Futures project, funded by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, asks two questions: what is the future of conservation, and what is CXL’s role in it? Over the next year the project runs a global foresight scan, two Big Think design labs, a published roadmap, and the launch of a conservation moonshot. The Research Associate keeps the research engine running across all of it.

Are we looking for you?

• Are you energized by the CXL mission to end extinction?
• Do you love to learn and voraciously seek out new knowledge?
• Are you an excellent writer? Do you write clearly and tightly? Can you turn messy inputs, like interview transcripts, reports, and workshop output, into something a busy reader will finish?
• Are you a self-starter who runs with ambiguity and asks good questions when the path is not obvious?
• Have you completed a massive research undertaking, like a thesis, conference paper, or client analysis that you are particularly proud of for its insights, complexity, clarity, and thoroughness?
• Do frontier technologies such as AI, synthetic biology, and quantum computing fascinate you as tools that can affect biodiversity conservation for good as well as bad?
• Are you a fast, careful researcher who can read across conservation technology, finance, policy, innovation, business, and more to pull out what matters?
• Are you organized about knowledge? Do you keep notes other people can actually use? Are you comfortable working in a structured research database?
• Do you love meeting and learning from new people from all kinds of different backgrounds and disciplines?
• Are you forward-thinking, creative, innovative?
• Are you always willing to lend a hand?
• Are you kind, hardworking, and a little bit (or a lot) of fun?
• Do you want to spend this part of your career on a hard problem that matters?

How you will support CXL

• Run desktop research and environmental scanning across conservation technology, nature finance, Indigenous and community-led conservation, and adjacent fields, building a map of the forces shaping conservation through 2035.
• Build and maintain the project’s research library, including source notes, trend notes, technology notes, and expert profiles.
• Utilize advanced tools, including LLMs, to organize, track, and present key information and results.
• Track down weak signals and emerging developments the field has not caught up to yet, and flag where the evidence is thin.
• Support and conduct expert interviews: prepare background, draft questions, take notes, and turn transcripts into usable synthesis.
• Draft and edit the foresight report, pre-reads, issue briefs, and convening materials, working closely with the project staff lead.
• Help design and run the two Big Think design labs, preparing materials, capturing what is said, and synthesizing the outputs afterward.
• Keep the research on schedule against the project work plan, and surface trade-offs early when timelines or scope are at risk.
• Lots of additional support, as yet to be determined. But if you are ready to jump in when needed, even when it’s not part of this project, then that’s what we are looking for.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience.
• Strong research and synthesis skills, with the judgment to tell signal from noise.
• Excellent written skills and real attention to detail.
• Comfort working independently and navigating ambiguity; a self-starter.
• Curiosity and a commitment to learning across unfamiliar fields.
• Passion for ending extinction.
• Proficiency with MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and the Google office suite.
• Familiarity with advanced research tools such as Web of Science and Lexis Nexus, as well as experience effectively using AI-based tools (Claude, ChatGPT) and software for research and synthesis.

Desired

• Background in conservation, environmental science, science and technology studies, futures and foresight, or a related field.
• Experience with strategic foresight or scenario-planning methods.
• Familiarity with knowledge-management tools such as Obsidian, Notion, or Airtable, and with reference management.
• Working knowledge of conservation technology, nature finance, or nature data.
• Foreign language proficiency, particularly Spanish, Portuguese, or French.

Application Instructions

Along with your resume, please apply with a cover letter that really tells us about who you are and what you will bring to help make Conservation X Labs more awesome.

About Conservation X Labs and Our Culture

Conservation X Labs applies technology, entrepreneurship, and open innovation to source, develop, and scale solutions to the underlying drivers of human-induced extinction, whether in conservation or other fields. Our approach is technology- and innovation-focused, market- and scale-driven, and interdisciplinary. We believe an approach that addresses the underlying drivers of extinction rather than its symptoms, and takes a revolutionary rather than evolutionary path, is the future of conservation, what we call Conservation 3.0. CXL operates as both a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a related B-corporation.

We are building an organization of problem solvers who are personable, highly motivated, and passionate about our mission. We want people who want to disrupt conservation in order to radically improve it. We are looking for those who have dared mighty things by trying a path others have not chosen, who have failed and learned from it, and who like to experiment, make things, hack things, test things, and break things, particularly dogmatic approaches to conservation or technology. Finally, we want kind, hardworking people who will devote their intellectual and creative energy to our mission, enjoy working on a team, and are driven by their passion.

CXL is committed to creating and cultivating a diverse workforce and an inclusive environment where every employee and contractor can work free from all forms of unlawful or intentional discrimination. We hire, promote, transfer, terminate, and make all employment-related decisions without regard to race, creed, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. To learn more about our programs and mission, please visit www.conservationxlabs.com.