Lead Ecological Scientist

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At Australian Integrated Carbon (AiC), we're more than a carbon project developer - we're a national team of ecologists, geospatial scientists, and land sector experts driving practical, science-led solutions. We partner with landholders and Traditional Owners to deliver carbon projects that regenerate landscapes, enhance productivity, and create long-term environmental and economic value.

Join us in shaping a future where environmental restoration is not only essential - it's a viable and thriving business opportunity.

The Role :

As the Lead Ecological Scientist, you will provide critical ecological expertise into our project pipeline and build internal capability across land condition assessment, monitoring design, and evidence-based decision making.

You'll play a key role in designing and refining methodologies, supporting complex projects, and translating field and remote sensing data into scientific insights.

Key Responsibilities :

• Lead ecological evidence for carbon projects. Translate vegetation condition, regeneration potential, and disturbance history into ACCU-compliant project designs (HIR, IFLM modules, Soil, EP).
• Develop and operationalise land condition / "Gap Test" frameworks. Define metrics, sampling designs, and thresholds to show suppressed vs recoverable states and track change over time.
• Build ecological baselines and monitoring protocols. Design stratified field programs; integrate plot, photo, and historical land use records; ensure methods are audit ready.
• Fuse field + remote sensing. Interpret LiDAR, satellite, and UAV data alongside ground measurements to quantify biomass, structure, and recruitment, flag data quality issues.
• Decision support. Provide clear go / no-go ecological calls for project eligibility areas (CEA selection), management interventions, and expected carbon trajectories.
• Scientific integrity and innovation. Work with the Chief Scientist to test assumptions, stress-test models, publish internal technical notes, and contribute to method submissions (IFLM development, regulator RFIs).
• Team uplift and QA. Train staff / contractors in vegetation ID, plot methods, photo standards, data logging, and error tracking; implement QA / QC checks that withstand CER audit.
• Stakeholder interface. Represent Ai Carbon science with regulators (CER, DCCEEW), research partners (universities, CSIRO), pastoral clients, and corporate buyers; communicate evidence plainly.
• Continuous improvement. Capture lessons from field campaigns; update SOPs, data schemas, and decision rules to tighten uncertainty and improve credit yield confidence.

About you :

Ideally, you'll be PhD-qualified in a relevant field such as ecology, environmental science, plant science, rangeland systems, or geospatial science (e.g. LiDAR, CHM).

What you'll bring

• Extensive field experience in Australian rangelands or comparable dryland systems.
• Demonstrated ability to design repeatable ecological surveys at landscape scale (>100k ha).
• Comfortable reading & critiquing LiDAR / RS outputs; can ground-truth and reconcile discrepancies.
• Strong data handling (R / Python / GIS) and statistical interpretation for heterogeneous datasets.
• Ability to brief executives in plain English and defend methods to skeptical regulators.
• Willingness to travel to remote properties and work in tough field conditions.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience with ACCU / ERF methodology implementation (HIR, Soil Carbon, EP, Savanna).
• Familiarity with FullCAM, carbon stock modelling, or growth / recruitment modelling.
• Past involvement in method development, policy submissions, or large research consortia.
• Experience building training materials and SOPs for distributed field teams.

Additional benefits include opportunities to work on high-profile sites across Australia, subsidised wellbeing programs, professional development, memberships paid for, and a competitive remuneration package.

Apply now to be part of a team transforming landscapes and livelihoods through science-informed carbon solutions.

We welcome applications from candidates across Australia. Relocation support may be offered for the right candidate.

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Research, Analyst, and Information Technology

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Location: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Salary: A$168,109.00-A$189,184.00

Posted: 1 week ago