Technical Aide

Position Summary(Basic Job Function)

This is a temporary or an on-call position. Provides technical support. Responsibilities may include computer programming or operations; research support; medical patient care; technical equipment maintenance, repair, fabrication or operation; or other technical support functions.

Unit Position Summary

Primary duties include identification of wildlife in game camera photographs, data management, cleaning and organization of cameras, and some very limited field work to collect cameras from the field.

Research Technicians needed in support of a wildlife research project through the Michigan Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit at Michigan State University. Research technicians will be supervised by Dr Brett DeGregorio and Dr. Steven Gray and will work closely with project partners at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The Research Technicians will primarily be responsible for helping to identify wildlife from data collected via motion-triggered game cameras. Technicians will be responsible for uploading data to specialized software and manually reviewing 100,000s of photos to assign species ID and counts. Technicians will have some opportunity to visit field sites in northern Michigan and retrieve cameras at the beginning of the project. Other duties will include cleaning and storing cameras, backing up data, formatting data for analyses, and helping to prepare reports and presentations regarding the data.

Technicians must have a robust familiarity with the fauna of Michigan and be able to identify mammal species from dark and often grainy photographs. Technicians will conduct work using Wildlife Insights software and familiarity with this program is a plus. Technicians must be independent, able to set and keep their own schedules, and communicate clearly and regularly with supervisors. Technicians should be detailed oriented and adhere to data management guidelines.

Required Qualifications:

1. Ability to identify Michigan mammals from game camera photographs.
2. Familiarity with Wildlife Insights software.
3. Detail-oriented.
4. Valid U.S. driver’s license.

Desired Qualifications

1. Commitment to natural resource conservation, and respect for property ownership, scientific credibility, and reliable data.
2. Experience interacting and working collaboratively with natural resource agencies.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

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

Required Application Materials

Letter of interest (1 page max), CV, contact information (email and/or phone) for three references.

Work Hours

STANDARD 8-5

Website

https://www.canr.msu.edu/fw/