Senior Data Scientist, Fisheries & Water Resources

ICF’s Fish and Aquatic Science and Technology Team is in an exciting period of expansion and invites applications for a Senior Data Scientist position. The Senior Data Scientist will work closely with fish biologists, hydrologists, and project managers to assist water resource clients with quantitative analysis, decision support modeling, and publication of applied science. Most immediate assignments will focus on statistical and decision support modeling and publishing work on Chinook Salmon in California’s Central Valley, though there will be opportunities for future work in other regions. Generally, the Senior Data Scientist will manage data and conduct scientific analysis, develop and maintain models and data pipelines, and contribute to proposal writing, study planning, fieldwork, and final deliverables, including report and manuscript preparation.

This position is available in San Francisco, CA, with the flexibility to work remotely.

The successful applicant will demonstrate the following:

• Fish Data Expertise with knowledge of and experience with key issues confronting fish management in Northern California, including Chinook Salmon population dynamics, endangered species recovery, habitat restoration, flow management, and monitoring program design.

• Water Management Expertise with knowledge of and experience with key issues confronting water management in California, including reservoir and conveyance operations, water supply and allocation, environmental flows, and drought and flood management. Ability to understand and interpret water operations, hydrologic and hydraulic information, and their implications for fish populations, habitat, and management decisions. Familiarity with California water policy and the legislative process.

• Quantitative and Problem-Solving Expertise: Knowledge and aptitude for quantitative analysis to evaluate the effects of clients’ proposed actions; ability to design and apply sophisticated, robust, and creative analytical approaches, including hierarchical and Bayesian statistical models and machine learning; ability to interpret hydrologic, hydraulic, and telemetry modeling outputs and integrate them into fish population and decision-support models; ability to conduct and interpret advanced statistical analyses; and proficiency in R, Python, and SQL.

• Open and Reproducible Data Science: Demonstrated ability to design and implement transparent, reproducible, and collaborative scientific workflows consistent with U.S. federal Open Science and Open Data expectations. Experience developing documented, version-controlled analytical workflows; maintaining clear data provenance; automating data processing, analysis, and reporting; and producing reusable data, code, and analytical products. Ability to establish shared workflows and documentation that facilitate collaboration, scientific review, knowledge transfer, and reuse across interdisciplinary teams and agency partners.

• Excellent Verbal and Written Communication Skills: Peer-reviewed scientific publication record and experience presenting at professional conferences. Strong ability to accurately and effectively translate scientific findings to inform policy recommendations in workshops and structured decision-making processes.
• Ability to express results of analyses to technical and non-technical audiences, including multi-agency stakeholder groups, through technical reports, presentations, and interactive data visualization tools (e.g., R Shiny applications), sometimes in stressful and contentious settings.
• Project Management Skills: Ability to manage several simultaneous long-term projects, including budget tracking, staff coordination, client relationship management, and completion of all required products/reports.
• Team Leadership Skills: Demonstrated track record of setting high personal performance and quality standards and enabling the team to be successful; viewing all team members as critical and treating team members with respect and professionalism; collaborating and leveraging team member strengths; and mentoring/developing junior team members, including through code review and documentation practices.
• Science-Business Balance: Expertise and passion for science, natural resources, and resolving complex fish problems while balancing the need for business acumen, marketing, and expansion opportunities.

Specific job duties will include:

• Conducting analyses and leading or assisting with writing scientific documents, technical reports, and peer-reviewed manuscripts for fish-related projects
• Developing, updating, and documenting statistical, population, and decision support models for fish and water resource management (e.g., Chinook Salmon recovery and flow decisions)
• Building and maintaining reproducible codebases and automated data pipelines that connect monitoring data to models
• Meeting with water resource clients to discuss technical aspects of planning, implementation, and monitoring of fish and water resource management projects
• Describing projects and interpretation of analyses through written and oral communication and interactive visualizations to a broad audience, sometimes in contentious environments
• Conducting scientific research leading to develop of knowledge to inform resource management.
• Working with a team of technical staff from multiple disciplines to complete analyses and documentation on time and within budget
• Developing scope and budget and writing proposals
• Building and maintaining client relationships
• Mentoring junior biologists

Education/Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree in fisheries biology, fisheries and wildlife, quantitative ecology, or equivalent science-related field or
• 5 years of increasingly complex assignments in fish data science

Additional Desired Qualifications

• Ability to demonstrate expert-level integration of complex data sets to facilitate analyses
• Demonstrated expertise in quantitative fish science field
• Experience conducting scientific research using fisheries expertise
• Peer-reviewed publication record in quantitative fisheries science
• Experience applying hierarchical or Bayesian modeling tools (e.g., Stan, Template Model Builder) to fisheries data
• Experience supporting structured decision making for California water and fish management

Bot and Third-Party Applications

Please note that this application must be submitted directly by the applicant for consideration. Failure to do so may result in the application being excluded for consideration.  Applicants needing an accommodation for disability or religious purposes in connection with the application process should contact Candidateaccommodation@icf.com for assistance.

Working at ICF

We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer. Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy.

We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Work Authorization and Sponsorship All candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. This position is not eligible for new H-1B visa sponsorship by ICF. Candidates who currently hold valid work authorization may be considered for a change of employer petition, subject to company policy and applicable immigration requirements.

Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not limited to, for disabled veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs, in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation, please email Candidateaccommodation@icf.com and we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.  

Read more about workplace discrimination rights or our benefit offerings which are included in the Transparency in (Benefits) Coverage Act. 

Pay Range - There are multiple factors that are considered in determining final pay for a position, including, but not limited to, relevant work experience, skills, certifications and competencies that align to the specified role, geographic location, education and certifications as well as contract provisions regarding labor categories that are specific to the position.

The pay range for this position based on full-time employment is: