The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is currently seeking a Postdoctoral Associate to join an interdisciplinary research project focused on wild animals in highly urbanized environments.
The project, called the "Wildlife Inclusive Local Development Lab" (WILD Lab), advances scientific understanding of urban development’s impacts on wild animal welfare and develops policy frameworks to improve outcomes for urban wildlife. The position presents an exciting opportunity to contribute to new scientific research and policy development in the field of wild animal welfare.
The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program, which houses the project, conducts research, outreach, and field-building activities that examine what wild animals are like, how humans and wild animals interact, and how humans can improve our interactions with wild animals at scale. To learn more about the Wild Animal Welfare Program, visit: https://sites.google.com/nyu.edu/wildanimalwelfare
The postdoctoral associate will serve as the WILD Lab’s science coordinator, leading empirical research in collaboration with colleagues in philosophy, law, and policy. Because the position reports to a principal investigator trained in philosophy instead of science, the ideal candidate will be self-directed and comfortable working with greater independence than is typical in many postdoctoral positions.
Responsibilities
- Time allocation: approximately 50/50 split between work to advance the Lab’s core projects and self-directed wild animal welfare research.
- Leadership of core Lab projects:
- Finalizing a scientific guidance document supporting those interested in studying urban wild animal welfare in entering the field.
- Adding to our mapping project, which aims to document land use and infrastructure around the NYU campus and connect these data to wild animal welfare.
- Continuing our ongoing work to investigate the cumulative wild animal welfare impacts of bird-window collisions.
- Providing scientific input to support the Lab’s policy outputs.
Position expectations
This is a 12-month position with a preferred start date on or around April 1, 2026 with the possibility of renewal, budget permitting. Some flexibility in the start date may be considered for the right candidate. The successful candidate will be expected to participate in regular meetings with Dr. Jeff Sebo and other members of the Wild Animal Welfare Program, and to contribute to research, outreach, and field building activities at the program. The position is in-person, as the Postdoctoral Associate will attend periodic in-person meetings and events and conduct a portion of the research on campus.
In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Act, the annual base salary for this position is between $62,500–70,713. New York University considers factors such as (but not limited to) years of relevant experience, the specific grant funding, and the terms of the research grant when extending an offer.
Required:
- Ph.D. in Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science, Zoology, or related field
- Research experience in urban ecology
- Familiarity with welfare science concepts and methods
- Demonstrated project, time, and budget management skills
- Ability to collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary teams
- Strong scientific writing and communication skills
Preferred:
- Experience designing and executing empirical studies in urban field settings
- Prior work on animal welfare science projects
- Experience translating scientific findings for policy or public audiences
- Interest in public engagement and science communication
- Statistical analysis skills (e.g., R, Python)
- Experience with GIS or spatial analysis tools
To be considered for this position, interested applicants should submit the following pdfs via Interfolio:
- a curriculum vitae
- a cover letter summarizing research background, interests, and goals
- a research statement explaining research to date and future research goals
- 1-2 writing samples (published, forthcoming, or in progress); first-author work preferred
- three professional references
