Job Type: Full-time, on-site
Location: Wildfire Research Center; University of Colorado, Boulder - Boulder, CO
Salary: $67,000/year
Application Deadline: November 30, 2025
Description:
IBS (Institute of Behavioral Science) is a research institute at the University of Colorado Boulder. Since its establishment in 1957, IBS has provided a setting for interdisciplinary, collaborative research on problems of societal concern. By engaging faculty from all the social and behavioral sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, IBS encourages work that transcends disciplinary boundaries, that illuminates the complexity of social behavior and social life, and that has important implications for social policy; IBS researchers are expected to conduct research that fulfills that mission. IBS is organized into five research programs, each defined by an interdisciplinary area of research and directed by a senior research scientist. This recruitment is sponsored by the Institute’s Environment & Society Program, with support from the Population Program, Health & Society Program, and the Program on International Development. IBS and CU Boulder have strong commitments to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion for all members of our community and for the subjects of our research.
Our interdisciplinary, researcher-practitioner collaborative team (https://wildfireresearchcenter.org/) is looking for a highly motivated researcher with strong quantitative skills and a keen interest in research that informs practice. The researcher will work with the team’s novel dataset, which is currently comprised of 26,000 geo-coded, parcel-level wildfire risk assessments matched with 8,000 household survey responses across 20 projects in 6 Western U.S. states. Similar data from additional projects will be added to the dataset as available. This unique dataset allows for analysis at multiple scales within and across varied types of fire-prone communities. It also allows the investigation of research questions at a broader scale than possible for individual case studies.
CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Responsibilities:
The researcher will contribute to the intellectual work of the projects, including literature review; statistical analyses of project data; and development of peer reviewed papers. The researcher will primarily work on developing scholarly publication(s) focused on analysis of the existing compiled dataset.
Once familiar with the dataset and approach, the researcher will be expected to take the lead in using the team’s novel dataset to conduct original research on the social dimensions of wildfire risk mitigation, preparation, and/or fuels management in fire-prone communities. Individual study topics will be co-developed in collaboration with the team and project wildfire practitioner partners. The resulting work will contribute to actionable research that can be used by wildfire practitioners and resource managers, and that adds to academic literature.
Minimum Qualifications:
We are looking for a curiosity-driven, collaborative researcher with research experience in social science (e.g., sociology, geography, economics) with strong quantitative skills and demonstrated experience working with social data.
Master’s degree required.
Desired Qualifications:
Interest/knowledge of research on the social dimensions of wildfire and/or public land management, hazards/disasters, and experience using census data. GIS skills.
