College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Forestry

Job Summary

The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources is seeking a Digital Forestry Extension Specialist. In this role, you will develop and implement outreach, demonstration and training programs, using both in-person and virtual formats and a variety of media, on topics including digital forestry and natural resources techniques, equipment, and data management and processing for resource managers and other professional audiences, including extension educators and specialists. This position will function as part of the USDA Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) project, titled “Promoting Economic Resilience and Sustainability of the Eastern U.S. Forests” (PERSEUS), as part of the Institute for Digital Forestry (iDiF), and as part of Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) Extension team.

This is a 3-year grant funded position through March 31, 2028.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Connecting landowners and general audiences to digital forestry and natural resources products, tools, training, media, and other resources relevant to their needs and/or interests
• Developing and maintaining relationships with key partners and other interest holders to facilitate product development and delivery in the area of digital forestry and natural resources, in close collaboration with research and product development teams in iDiF and beyond. This includes soliciting feedback and measuring impact and using such data to inform future research, product development, and extension efforts. This may be through visits or guest presentations to meetings, guest presentations or membership on boards, booths or demonstrations/presentations at conferences
• Serving as the Purdue contact for the Extension component in the USDA Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) project, titled “Promoting Economic Resilience and Sustainability of the Eastern U.S. Forests” (PERSEUS), in close collaboration with PERSEUS Objective 3 leads and team members, as well as the larger PERSEUS team. This includes (1) recruiting digital forestry technology users to test out and provide feedback on the tool development through in-person and virtual workshops and other means, (2) providing training to key interest holders in the Eastern U.S. on digital forestry tools and request feedback, (3) creating written or other Extension content to facilitate PERSEUS Extension objectives, and (4) coordinating and collaborating with colleagues at the University of Maine and University of Georgia to advance PERSEUS Extension objectives and complete defined tasks
• Creating communications informing key partners, various interest holders, landowners, and other relevant audiences about the products, tools, resources, and opportunities available in the field of digital forestry and natural resources
• Coordinating with project staff to develop survey/evaluation tools to document impact of Extension and outreach programs
• Reporting program impact on Purdue and other relevant reporting portals and media outlets

What We're Looking For:

• Master's degree in forestry or other related environmental and natural resource fields
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team
• Ability to lead and/or coordinate projects as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to develop written material and use multiple media and techniques to deliver programs

Nice to Have:

• Experience in science communication and/or forestry and natural resources outreach/extension

What We'd Like You to Know:

• This is a 3-year grant funded position through March 31, 2028.
• Learn more about Purdue’s benefits summary
• Purdue will not sponsor employment authorization for this position
• A Background Check is required for employment in this position
• FLSA: Exempt (Not Eligible For Overtime)
• Retirement Eligibility: Defined Contributions Waiting Period
• Purdue University is an EOE/AA employer.

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