Project-Research Manager

Job Description

The Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech is hiring a Project-Research Manager. This position will be funded by a newly acquired Department of War project entitled, Evaluation and validation of vegetation, fuel, and fire behavior tools and technology in hardwood-dominated forest ecosystems of Virginia and the eastern United States. The project is being led by Dr. Adam Coates and includes Drs. Carrie Fearer, Verl Emrick, and Mark Ford as Co-PIs.
Goals for this project include:
- Inventory of fuels, using traditional transect methods and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), throughout hardwood-dominated locations in Virginia, including the Department of War installations and bases and the George Washington-Jefferson National Forest
- Investigation of TLS metrics for the calculation and determination of unique wildlife habitat metrics
- Utilization of fuels inputs from this region in fire behavior modeling
- Creation of monitoring protocols that can be implemented to advance fuels monitoring and management across the Commonwealth

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor's Degree in Forest Resources or a similar discipline
- FFT2 Wildland Firefighter certification
- Experience in field sampling and crew supervision
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Strong analytical stills, including the use of statistical software (R, JMP, SAS, etc.)

Preferred Qualifications

- Master in Forest Resources.
- Experience in field sampling and supervision of a team (crew).

Pay Band

4

Overtime Status

Non-Exempt: Eligible for overtime

Appointment Type

Restricted

Salary Information

$60,000 - $65,000

Hours per week

40

Review Date

05/29/26

Additional Information

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.

About Virginia Tech

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech pushes the boundaries of knowledge by taking a hands-on, transdisciplinary approach to preparing scholars to be leaders and problem-solvers. A comprehensive land-grant institution that enhances the quality of life in Virginia and throughout the world, Virginia Tech is an inclusive community dedicated to knowledge, discovery, and creativity. The university offers more than 280 majors to a diverse enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in eight undergraduate colleges, a school of medicine, a