Postdoctoral Scholar in Forest Growth & Yield Full-time

Post-Doctoral Scholar Position

The Forest Growth & Yield Lab at the University of Alberta seeks a post-doctoral scholar to work on the development of the next generation of forest growth & yield models for the western boreal and Rocky Mountain forest regions.

The core goal of this work is to develop models that integrate advances in remote sensing and enhance the representation of silviculture, climate, succession, and genetic effects into predictions of forest dynamics and development. Existing growth models in Canada and elsewhere will be critically evaluated and opportunities for evolving, augmenting, or redeveloping models will be explored.

Responsibilities

• Forest model assessment, comparison, and critical evaluation
• Collection and integration of UAV remote sensing data with permanent forest sample plot measurements
• Conceptualization and development of strategies for incorporating remote sensing into operational-scale models suitable for forest management planning
• Evaluation of alternative model architectures and approaches for incorporating climate, silviculture, succession, and tree improvement effects
• Integration of models into multi-objective simulation and optimization systems
• Leading the authorship of technical and peer-reviewed publications

Qualifications

• PhD in forestry, forest science, quantitative silviculture, or a closely related field earned within the previous 5 years
• Prior scholarship in one or more of forest growth and yield, silviculture, or stand dynamics
• Proficiency in data science in a natural resources environment using one or more of R, SAS, Python, SQL
• Strong problem-solving and applied statistics skills
• Proficiency in geospatial technologies, including GIS and GPS
• Experience with publication in the peer-reviewed literature

Application Instructions

Click “Apply Now” to submit your cover letter and resume.

Review of applicants will begin on March 1, 2026 and will continue until a candidate is selected.