Landers & Moorings Technician (SAMS)

UHI; Oban; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible & hybrid working options

Training & development opportunities

Annual leave accrual and pension

Job summary

SAMS in Oban is recruiting a Landers & Moorings Technician to support deployment and operation of oceanographic landers and moorings. The role involves vessel-based operations, field calibration of sensors, and hands-on maintenance of subsea equipment.

You will contribute to the design and integration of field platforms, manage procurement and asset readiness, and coordinate logistics for worldwide deployments while upholding SAMS safety standards.

Qualifications

• Practical hands-on experience with oceanographic fieldwork and subsea instrumentation.
• Recent sea-going exposure with deployment/recovery of lander or mooring systems.
• Ability to fault-find, repair and calibrate subsea sensors including oxygen and conductivity.

Responsibilities

• Support deployment, operation and development of lander and mooring systems for DORI and OceanSOS.
• Perform inspection, maintenance, repair and troubleshooting of subsea hardware and cabling.
• Calibrate sensors in the field, with emphasis on oxygen and conductivity measurements.
• Lead design, procurement and integration of field-ready lander/mooring platforms.
• Coordinate logistics, asset management and routine equipment maintenance.
• Ensure health, safety and environmental procedures are followed in offshore activities.

Skills

Oceanographic fieldwork

Subsea instrumentation

Sea-going experience

Electronic fault finding

Sensor calibration

System integration

Job description

Landers & Moorings Technician

Location: SAMS, Oban

Contract Type: Fixed Term : 24 months.

Working Pattern: Full Time - 37 hours per week - Monday to Friday

Salary: Grade 5 - £32,546.00 - £36,130.00 per annum

Closing date: 15 December 2026

The Role

The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting the deployment, operation, and ongoing development of oceanographic lander and mooring systems, primarily supporting the Dark Oxygen Research Initiative (DORI) and OceanSOS projects of the Seafloor Ecology and Biogeochemistry research group. They will join the Marine Robotics and Instrumentation team, assisting with vessel-based operations including the deployment and recovery of subsea assets, ensuring systems are operated safely and effectively.

The role will involve inspection, maintenance, repair, and troubleshooting of a wide range of subsea instrumentation and supporting hardware, such as housings, deep-sea cameras, cables, and buoyancy systems. The candidate will also support the calibration of scientific sensors in the field, with a particular focus on oxygen, pH, hydrogen, and conductivity measurements, helping to ensure high-quality data return from deployments.

A significant element of the role will involve the design, development, and construction of lander and mooring systems to meet specific project requirements. This includes leading on aspects of system design, procurement of components, and integration of instrumentation into robust field-ready platforms. The post-holder will also contribute to the wider operational activities of the team, including routine equipment maintenance, asset management, and logistics planning.

The role requires involvement in project logistics, including organising the shipment of equipment to and from vessel mobilisation ports around the world, and ensuring readiness for deployments. The successful candidate will be expected to proactively apply SAMS Health and Safety procedures at all times, contributing to safe working practices both onshore and offshore.

The post-holder will be expected to engage with internal project meetings relevant to fieldwork planning and delivery, as well as wider marine operations coordination meetings. These are typically held on a regular basis (e.g. weekly operational planning meetings and ad-hoc project-specific meetings as required).

Link to project:

The Nippon Foundation: Dark Oxygen Research Initiative - Dark Oxygen production in the deep sea

Our Ideal Candidate

We are seeking a practical, proactive, and highly organised individual with experience in oceanographic fieldwork and subsea instrumentation. The ideal candidate will have recent sea going experience, along with a strong technical background and hands-on experience working with marine equipment, particularly in the deployment and recovery of lander or mooring systems.

They will have demonstrable experience in electronic fault finding, repair, and maintenance of subsea hardware, as well as familiarity with sensor calibration, ideally including oxygen and conductivity sensors. Experience in the design and integration of oceanographic systems, including component selection and procurement, would be highly advantageous.

The successful candidate will be comfortable working both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team in dynamic and sometimes challenging environments, including offshore deployments around the world. Strong organisational skills and forward planning are essential, particularly in relation to logistics coordination and equipment preparation for field campaigns.

A proactive approach to health and safety is essential, along with the ability to follow established procedures and contribute to a positive safety culture. Excellent communication skills and attention to detail are also key, ensuring effective collaboration across projects and with external partners where required.

Employee Benefits

Our relatively small, caring community is an ideal environment for making friends, forming collaborations, and supporting each other to do the work that we really care about. Oban and surrounding areas provide a fantastic base to live and work, and we offer a wide range of employee benefits, support and inclusive culture, making SAMS a great place to work.

Our employees are the heart of our business. Recruiting and retaining the right people is the key to our success. Rewarding our employees is therefore an important component of our employment package and we have a wide range of benefits on offer to staff to support your work and lifestyle.

We are proud to provide a wide variety of benefits year-round, offering options to best support our staff, such as: flexible & hybrid working options, purchase of additional annual leave, shopping discounts, Cycle 2 Work scheme, purchases of technology through salary sacrifice, Payroll Giving, Pensions Plus, access to portals to support health and wellbeing, a sabbatical scheme, free car parking with access to electronic charging points as well as access to a number of training & development courses.

Additionally, SAMS encourages and recognises excellence among staff through various recognition and reward arrangements. We are striving to constantly develop and expand the benefits and offers for our colleagues.

Applicant Support & Guidance

We are a Disability Confident Employer. Where a candidate requires reasonable adjustments as part of the application process, we encourage you to let us know. Where applicants with a disability meet the essential criteria for the job, you will be given the opportunity to demonstrate your skills, talent and abilities at interview.

SAMS' commitment to gender equality has been recognised, as our institute was presented with an Athena SWAN (Scientific Women's Academic Network) Bronze Award and is currently working towards Investors in Diversity accreditation.

SAMS follows Fair Work Practices.

SAMS Group is committed to being an equal and open organisation. Diversity and inclusion are important to us, and we strive to remove any barriers that may prevent people from applying to join us. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, and from all who share our values and can help us to broaden our knowledge and range of ideas.

Interviews will be held in January 2027.