Job Description

• One of Australia’s leading research & teaching universities
• Vibrant campus life with a strong sense of community & inclusion
• Enjoy a career that makes a difference by collaborating & learning from the best

At UNSW, we pride ourselves on being a workplace where the best people come to do their best work.

The School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences is a large, collaborative and multi-disciplinary school in the Faculty of Science at the University of New South Wales with over 170 academic, research and professional staff. In 2025, the school obtained $22M in research funding, produced over 800 scientific publications and is frequently rated among the top schools across UNSW in student experience surveys. The School incorporates a broad range of disciplines, enabling comprehensive education and research in the broad fields of Earth Science, Environmental Science, Physical Geography, Climate Science, Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Marine Science and Oceanography.

The Research Associate will contribute to research at the interface between ecological sciences and environmental data science and assists in the development and refinement of reproducible workflows for ecosystem-specific and fit-for-purpose indicators. This role is specifically required to contribute to the ARDC funded Ecosystem Indicators Workflows project and will conduct research in collaboration with a core team led by the UNSW Centre for Ecosystem Science and with collaborations in other UNSW centres, and external partners in academia, industry and other sectors.

Within the project, the Research Associate will be responsible for the completion of work packages related to development of analytical workflows following FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reproducible), and development of software tools or packages, and will contribute to other work packages related to refinement of research vocabularies, auditing datasets, documenting platform capabilities and performance, and building a community of practice.

THIS ROLE IS LOCATED IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

About the role

• Level A ($113k - $121k) plus 17% Superannuation and annual leave loading
• Fixed Term – 18 months (to 31st December 2027)
• Full-time (35 hours per week)

Specific responsibilities for this role include:

• Contribute independently or as a team member in collaborative research with a focus to enhance the quality of research outcomes in the discipline area.
• Enable research teams to create scholarly output that is recognised by peers.
• Undertake the develop of ecosystem-specific indicator workflows under the guidance of a research leader and contribute to development of related research activities.
• Contribute ecological and/or data science expertise to workflow design and testing.
• Contribute data science expertise to support data transformation, harmonisation, and metadata development.
• Collaborate with research software engineers on implementation of software tools and other solutions for reproducible research, including supporting requirement gathering and user testing activities.
• Contribute to documentation, elaboration of case studies and example applications.
• Collaborate with community and engagement team to support training activities, community events and the dissemination of research outcomes through appropriate channels and outlets.
• Undertake discipline-appropriate research activities, e.g. surveys, literature reviews, data gathering and/or recording of results using appropriate research methods.
• Participate in and/or present at conferences and/or workshops relevant to the project as required. Assist with the supervision of research students in the research area where required.
• Align with and actively demonstrate the Code of Conduct and Values.
• Cooperate with all health and safety policies and procedures of the university and take all reasonable care to ensure that your actions or omissions do not impact on the health and safety of yourself or others.

About the successful applicant
(Selection Criteria)

To be successful in this role you will have:

• A PhD in ecology, environmental science, or conservation science or a tertiary qualification (Masters or Honours degree) in data science or a similar relevant discipline combined with relevant experience in industry or research.
• Knowledge and experience in computer science and coding.
• Proven skills in mathematics and statistics.
• Proven commitment to proactively keeping up to date with domain and technical knowledge and developments.
• Demonstrated track record of research outputs (publications, conference presentations, datasets, software, etc) relative to opportunity.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team, collaborate across disciplines and build effective relationships.
• Evidence of highly developed interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and interact with a diverse range of stakeholders and students.
• An understanding of and commitment to UNSW’s aims, objectives and values in action, together with relevant policies and guidelines.
• Knowledge of health and safety responsibilities and commitment to attending relevant health and safety training.

You should systematically address the selection criteria listed within the position description in your application.

Please apply online - applications will not be accepted if sent to the contact listed.

Contact:
Jose Ferrer Paris
E: j.ferrer@unsw.edu.au
Applications close: June 25th, 2026

Find out more about working at UNSW at www.unsw.edu.au

UNSW aspires to be the exemplar Australian university and employer of choice for people from diverse backgrounds. UNSW aims to ensure equality in recruitment, development, retention and promotion of staff and that no-one is disadvantaged on the basis of their gender, cultural background, disability, sexual orientation or identity or Indigenous heritage. We encourage everyone who meets the selection criteria to apply.

UNSW partners with Australia’s leading diversity organisations, networks, and campaigns. Please refer to UNSW’s diversity offerings for further information on our flexible work and leave options, and support for carers (childcare, parent rooms, parental leave).