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Colorado Sustainability Hub Research Field Technician

CitSci.org
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Job Description

We are seeking two enthusiastic and outgoing field technicians for Summer 2025 who are passionate about sustainability and community engagement. These positions will play a key role in gathering public feedback to inform the development of the Colorado Sustainability Hub. As a field technician, you will connect with community organizations, partners, and residents across northwestern Colorado. Your responsibilities will include conducting interviews on economic, social, and environmental sustainability topics and facilitating public interaction with a prototype AI chatbot designed to answer sustainability-related questions.

These are half-time CSU student hourly positions (20 hours/week) for approximately 8 weeks, based in northwestern Colorado. 

Background Check Language: Colorado State University may conduct background

checks on final candidates.

• Benefit Information: Employee benefit information can be found on HR’s Website at

https://hr.colostate.edu/current-employees/benefits/

• Hourly Pay Rate: $18-20/hour

• Number of Openings: 2

• Start Date: June 2025

Background

The Colorado Sustainability Hub is a cutting-edge, community-driven initiative that consolidates sustainability and well-being data across the state into an accessible platform. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), this collaborative project involves CSU and four other Colorado universities. The Hub empowers decision-makers, policymakers, and community stakeholders with data-driven insights on economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

The project integrates diverse research areas, including geospatial analysis, machine learning, user-centered design, and data democratization, to support real-world sustainability solutions.

 

Sustainability Hub Research Field Technician Overview

This position offers a unique opportunity to apply your academic knowledge to real-world sustainability challenges while gaining hands-on experience in interdisciplinary research and technology development.

We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and academic disciplines who are eager to contribute to the Hub’s mission of advancing sustainability across Colorado.

Field technicians will contribute to the following areas:

  • Community Engagement and Stakeholder Collaboration (85%)
    Support outreach efforts through interviews, canvassing, surveys, focus groups, and engagement with policymakers, community organizations, and researchers.
     
  • Data Collection and Management (15%)
    Summarizing and organizing interview data following research team guidelines.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

  • Conduct and document in-person interviews and canvassing to gather community feedback.
  • Facilitate testing of the Bili Core NLP-powered data retrieval system and collect user feedback on the Bili LLM chatbot prototype.
  • Participate in weekly team meetings and provide daily updates on fieldwork progress and insights.

Qualifications and Requirements

  • Completion of CSU’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) training to be added to the research protocol.
  • Enrollment in an undergraduate program at CSU in a relevant field (e.g., Environmental Science, Sustainability, Computer Science, GIS, Data Science, Sociology, Political Science, Engineering, Economics, Public Health).
  • Strong interpersonal and organizational skills.
  • Demonstrated interest in sustainability, community-based research, or technology-driven solutions.
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
  • Access to a reliable vehicle for travel within northwestern Colorado.
  • Access to a reliable internet connection and a personal computer for remote collaboration.
  • A valid driver’s license

 

Location

This position requires fieldwork in rural areas of northwestern Colorado, with a primary summer base ideally located in Routt, Moffat, or Jackson County.

Please note:

  • CSU cannot reimburse travel from Fort Collins to the job sites.
  • Applicants must reside in or relocate to the Routt/Moffat/Jackson County region for the summer (Applicants are responsible for finding their own housing)
  • Regular in-person work is required for interviews and outreach.
  • Remote collaboration with the broader research team will occur via virtual meetings.

 

Schedule Flexibility

While some flexibility is available, this role requires in-person interaction with stakeholders and the public to gather feedback on the chatbot and Sustainability Hub platform. You will be expected to work 20 hours/week consisting of two eight hour days dedicated to conducting in-person interviews/canvassing and one 4 hour day per week for meetings, setting up interviews, and other administrative tasks. 

This is an 8 week position, scheduled between June and Aug 2025.

 

Compensation

  • Hourly Rate: $18-20/hour
  • Reimbursements:
    • Lodging (rarely) for fieldwork trips will be covered.
    • Most trips are expected to be day trips.
    • Mileage will be reimbursed per CSU policy.
    • Overnight stays, if needed, will be arranged by CSU staff.
    • A set budget is available for travel-related expenses.

Application Process

Interested students should apply via Handshake by submitting the following materials:

  • Resume
  • Cover Letter detailing your interest in sustainability research, relevant experience, career goals, and what you hope to contribute and gain from this opportunity.

Application Deadline: Monday, May 28, 2025

For questions, please contact Sarah Newman at sarah.newman@colostate.edu