Join Our Team

Our research crews brave all types of weather and environmental conditions to capture and band birds and bats. The crew here are capturing sea ducks.

The researchers and support staff who work at BRI all have one thing in common—their passion for helping create a healthier environment. That passion translates into a myriad of interests and projects. Core values stand at the heart of our staff: commitment, creativity, collaboration, integrity. We are always looking for candidates who embody those core values and who can bring their special talents and skills to the job at hand.
Human
Resources, Insurance, and Office Manager: Bridget Bowden

Browse through our projects and staff pages to get to know us and watch for position openings; they will be listed below when available. Positions are open until filled unless otherwise noted.

Open positions:
-Marine Ecologist
-Wildlife Surveyors (5 positions available)

NOTE: New hires must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before employment can begin.

Now Hiring: Marine Ecologist

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) seeks a conscientious and detail-oriented marine ecologist to work on offshore wind and wildlife issues for our non-profit organization located in Portland, Maine. We are a scientific nonprofit group dedicated to environmental research and monitoring that supports the protection of biodiversity and ecological health. BRI’s mission is to assess emerging threats to wildlife and ecosystems through collaborative research, and to use scientific findings to advance environmental awareness and inform decision makers. Successful candidates must possess a genuine interest in supporting BRI’s mission and a strong desire to be part of a dynamic and purpose-driven work environment.

The Marine Ecologist will be part of BRI’s Center for Research on Offshore Wind and the Environment (CROWE) and work on projects related to offshore wind energy development, including such projects as the Offshore Wind Environmental Technical Working Group (https://www.nyetwg.com/) and managing bird- and bat-focused research as part of Project WOW (https://offshorewind.env.duke.edu/).

Status: Full-time Salaried
Research Center Appointment: Center for Research on Offshore Wind and the Environment (CROWE) (https://briwildlife.org/crowe/)
Location: BRI’s Portland, Maine office
Work Environment: BRI strives to provide a supportive and collaborative environment that fosters personal growth and career advancement. BRI is dedicated to an office culture that is relaxed, supportive of both families and the individual needs of our staff. BRI is an inclusive community and welcomes anyone who has an interest in wildlife research.
Benefits: BRI offers a fully paid employee health insurance premium, plus optional dependent coverage, dental, LTD and life insurance, 401k with match, and generous paid PTO and holidays. Costs associated with work travel are reimbursed.

Position Responsibilities:

  • Provide ecological, technical, and decision science support for state and federal agencies, industry representatives, and other stakeholders in the environmental community to address environmental issues relating to offshore wind energy development;
  • Organize and develop technical programs for stakeholder workshops and meetings;
  • Conduct literature reviews and make scientific recommendations based on the available literature;
  • Develop manuscripts, presentations, reports, fact sheets, and other materials;
  • Work collaboratively to manage and coordinate research and stakeholder engagement projects; and
  • All other duties as directed or assigned. Depending upon the applicant’s areas of expertise, this may include conducting fieldwork in support of BRI’s research projects (such as at-sea surveys, seabird tracking, or Motus station deployment) and/or conducting statistical analyses of survey, movement, or other datasets.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience Required:

The successful candidate should be detail-oriented and have a track record of excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Essential qualifications include:

  • Bachelor’s degree or preferably higher in biology or a related field, with substantial experience in marine systems
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including scientific and technical writing as well as an ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of stakeholders
  • Excellent organizational and logistics skills
  • Strong work ethic and ability to effectively prioritize and address needs as they arise
  • Ability to work effectively as part of a team, and willingness to work collaboratively with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders
  • Ability to work a flexible schedule, including occasional weekend work or overnight travel

Other Requirements:
Other desired characteristics or skills include a strong familiarity with the aquatic taxa of the eastern United States, particularly New England and/or the New York Bight; decision-based science expertise; experience working with offshore wind energy stakeholders, including environmental nonprofits, offshore wind developers, state and federal regulators, fishermen, and others; familiarity with the known and potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on wildlife; communications and outreach experience, including website design and management; quantitative and analytical expertise, including use of R, Python, and/or ArcGIS; and a sense of humor.

Compensation and Employee Benefits :
BRI is committed to salary equity and our goal is to meet federal Grade-Step (GS) levels that align with years of education and experience. Refer to the GS pay scale as an approximate guide for the Northeast Region. BRI offers a fully paid employee health insurance premium, optional dependent coverage, dental, LTD, life insurance, 401k with match, and generous paid PTO and holidays. Costs associated with work travel are reimbursed. Ultimately, BRI’s benefits package, workplace flexibility, international travel options, professional development opportunities, and the ability for vertical movement within the organization create an unparalleled workplace culture. BRI is a member of the United Nations Global Compact and as such meets DEI interests in the US.

Applications should be sent to jobs@briwildlife.org or mail to Biodiversity Resource Institute, Attn: Human Resources (Marine Ecologist), 276 Canco Rd., Portland, ME 04103*, 207.839.7600. www.briwildlife.org

All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status

Now Hiring: Wildlife Surveyors

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) is a scientific nonprofit group dedicated to environmental research and monitoring that supports the protection of biodiversity and ecological health. BRI’s mission is to assess emerging threats to wildlife and ecosystems through collaborative research, and to use scientific findings to advance environmental awareness and inform decision makers. Findings from this project will contribute to both BRI’s Center for Conservation and Climate Change and to BRI’s new Biodiversity Research Program. Successful candidates must possess a genuine interest in supporting BRI’s mission and a strong desire to be part of a dynamic and purpose-driven work environment.

BRI, in cooperation with South Dakota State University, is participating in the South Dakota Rangeland Soil Carbon Project that aims to monitor changes in soil carbon storage and biological diversity (‘biodiversity’) as a result of altered grazing pressure. Biodiversity will be examined with a focus on species richness and diversity indices, examining change in forage quality and quantity (e.g., vegetation cover and species composition), and change in the abundance and distribution of focal taxa over time.

Biodiversity monitoring will focus primarily on quantifying the diversity and abundance of 1) vegetation, 2) dung beetles, grasshoppers, and pollinators, 2) frogs and toads, 3) birds, and 4) mammals (including bats). An a priori emphasis will be placed on taxa that could be most representative of rapid changes in rangeland habitat quality – those taxa could include dung beetles, avian predators (e.g., raptors and shrikes), avian granivores, small mammals, and mammalian meso-carnivores.

Status: Full-time Seasonal
Research Center Appointment: Center for Conservation and Climate Change
Location: South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming
Work Environment: This is a field position that includes daily field observations and sampling, unless inclement weather is problematic. Lodging may include campers, otherwise will be in hotels or Air BnBs.
Compensation: $800-900 per week, commensurate with experience, housing and transportation included
Start/End Date: late May – August/September 2024 (end dates TBD and consideration given for students)

Overarching Opportunities:

  • Support climate-change related conservation efforts through research and monitoring activities.
  • Assist in efforts to understand biological diversity in the Great Plains
  • Participate in the implementation of both traditional ground surveys and passive acoustic survey efforts and developing new machine learning methods for species identification by sound.

Position Responsibilities:
Participate in surveys related to biodiversity assessment projects using a variety of field methods to best detect and quantify taxa of interest and to use approaches that can be replicable over time (it is the change of various taxa in response to improvement in grasslands that is of great importance). Field methods will include the assessment of vegetation and habitat, capture of photographs of invertebrates (e.g., dung beetles, grasshoppers, and pollinators), visual observation at point counts (e.g., birds) and transects (e.g., mammals), acoustic recordings in the field (e.g., birds), and digital cameras with bait (rodents, small carnivores, and other mammals). Other duties include:

  • Participate in project-required certifications and training;
  • Lead or assist with observation and identification of plants, invertebrates, birds and mammals;
  • Lead or assist with quality assurance and quality control processes (including species identification or verification) for diverse taxa;
  • Work closely in small project teams, including with other BRI staff as well as external colleagues, and maintain friendly and professional relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and colleagues;
  • Participate in the collection and recording of field data as well as inputting to relevant databases;
  • Participate in the deployment, maintenance, and removal of relevant field equipment;
  • Uphold the legal requirements of permits and understand associated and necessary laws; and
  • Potentially assist in bird capture using mist nets and other capture techniques using BRI protocols for banding, ageing/sexing individuals, transmitter attachment, and tissue sampling.

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience Required:
Successful candidates should be detail-oriented and have a track record of excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Must be able to work independently, in small groups and have a valid driver’s license. A strong work ethic, professionalism, and sense of humor are a must. Other essential qualifications include:

  • Bachelor’s degree (or pursuing) in wildlife management or a related field;
  • Excellent organizational and logistics skills, including ability to coordinate among collaborators;
  • Ability to effectively prioritize and address needs as they arise;
  • Ability to work effectively as part of a team, and willingness to work collaboratively with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders;
  • Ability to work a flexible schedule, including regular weekend work or overnight travel.

Other Requirements:
Other desired skills include: experience conducting surveys of the targeted focal taxa (e.g., transects, point counts), handling (e.g., trapping, banding) and sampling (e.g., blood, feather) avian species, high level of identification abilities by taxa, experience handling acoustic recording units and/or digital game cameras, identification of bat call recordings, small mammal trapping, and basic orientation skills using maps and charts. Please highlight these skills if you have them.

Physical Demands:
Must be able to carry > 50 lbs. and walk for several miles per day in potentially rugged terrain and hot weather. This work involves regular travel and long hours outside. Occasional overnights at ranch sites may be required.

Location:
For this position, field sites are located in six ranches distributed across South Dakota with one ranch in northeastern Wyoming. The work schedule will maximize the breeding season and activity time period for focal indicator species – June through August. There will be a one-week training period prior to the survey initiation in late May. Surveys will be conducted 5-6 days per week from early June through late August. Down time will likely occur in between ranch sites or during inclement weather. There will be two survey teams – one focused on birds and mammals that will begin before dawn and end in the early afternoon, and one focused on plants and invertebrates that will begin mid-morning and end mid-afternoon. Daily data management and uploads will happen after surveys are completed.

Work Environment:
This is a full-time seasonal position based at multiple field sites in South Dakota or Wyoming. Recognizing that wildlife work often requires intensive field stints, BRI encourages staff to take downtime when the weather precludes optimal work. All travel and lodging expenses are covered by BRI from the home base – that can be either our Portland, Maine office or Rapid City, South Dakota. A food allowance is provided according to the BRI Employee Handbook.

To Apply:
Applications should be sent to jobs@briloon.org or mail to Biodiversity Resource Institute, Attn: Human Resources (South Dakota Wildlife Surveyor), 276 Canco Rd., Portland, ME 04103*, 207.839.7600. www.briwildlife.org

All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status

Photo Credits: Photo © BRI-Jonathan Fiely