Research Technician

The role

We are looking for a temporary lab and field assistant to join the SAPlab (soil animal plant interactions lab) for 5-months from June until November 2025 to process soil and invertebrate samples collected from forests across Europe and assist in field excursions to Norway and Scotland. Candidates must be available and willing to travel between 9^th and 30^th of June and again between the 18^th of August and 1^st of September. We require that the candidate can and is willing to drive in Norway to assist in transport to and from field sites.

What will you be doing?

Field work will be in forests in Devon, Norway and Scotland and will include collecting soil samples for invertebrate and eDNA extraction and elemental analysis, soil gas sampling using an IRGA and carrying out vegetation surveys. This will require walking distances of ~5 KM per day and will involve some long days. Lab work will include processing soil mesofauna samples for digisation and developing existing AI models for ID, taxonomic ID of soil macrofauna fauna from pitfall samples, sample preparation for elemental analysis, processing soil (sieving), and extracting roots and hyphae from ingrowth cores to determine biomass and elemental concentrations.

You should apply if

Please apply if you have demonstrated experience in:

Ecological field work

Soil invertebrate identification

Working with AI models

Laboratory processing of soil/root material for elemental analysis

Use of analytical equipment (e.g. elemental analysers)

Writing laboratory protocols and risk assessments

Additional information

For informal enquiries please contact: Hannah.griffiths@bristol.ac.uk

Contract type: Fixed term until 28/11/2025

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on Tuesday 22nd April 2025

Our strategy and mission

We recently launched our strategy to 2030 tying together our mission, vision and values.

The University of Bristol aims to be a place where everyone feels able to be themselves and do their best in an inclusive working environment where all colleagues can thrive and reach their full potential. We want to attract, develop, and retain individuals with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives – particularly people of colour, LGBT+ and disabled people - because diversity of people and ideas remains integral to our excellence as a global civic institution.

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