Lead Ecological Scientist

Australian Integrated Carbon

  • Adelaide, SA
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 1 month ago
  • Scientific leadership in carbon and land management
  • Leading nature-based carbon developer
About Australian Integrated Carbon: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.
AIC Benefits:
  • Opportunities to work on high-profile sites across Australia
  • Subsidised Wellbeing Programs
  • Professional development program, including internal and external training
  • Professional memberships paid for by the company
  • Join an established and continually growing business
  • A competitive remuneration package will be negotiated based on skills and experience.
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.
  • See the position description attached below for further information about this role.
nrmjobs.com.au/job/20026482Date published:25-Jul-2025Closing date:07-Sep-2025

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