Research Assistant (Instrumentation)

National University of Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relaxed and supportive team

Generous leave provisions

Continuous professional development

Exposure to multi-year, multi-paramete

Job summary

National University of Singapore’s Tropical Marine Science Institute invites applications for a Research Assistant (Instrumentation). The role supports long-term marine environmental monitoring by ensuring sensors are maintained, calibrated and deployed at sea, and by validating and processing collected data.

The position suits hands-on technical work and analytical problem-solving. You will work with CTDs and oceanographic instrumentation, report findings, contribute to SOPs, and participate in

Qualifications

• Hold a degree in Oceanography, Marine Science, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering, STEM or related field.
• Proficient in data processing and analysis using Python
• Comfortable working at sea and troubleshooting equipment under non-ideal conditions.
• Enjoy understanding how systems work and studying technical manuals and instrument documentation.
• Have mechanical/electrical aptitude and workshop skills for equipment maintenance and fault finding.
• Are resourceful, independent and able to troubleshoot problems and learn new equipment quickly.
• Are meticulous and detail-oriented
• Works well in a small, collaborative team environment.
• Are flexible with working hours when required for field activities.

Responsibilities

• Acquisition of oceanographic parameters such as salinity, temperature, turbidity through deployment of multi-sensor systems.
• Participate in regular field trips onboard research vessels (more frequently when required).
• Conduct pre-field preparations, logistics coordination, and post-field checks.
• Troubleshoot instruments in real-time under field conditions, including at sea.
• Set up, calibrate, maintain and conduct instruments verification.
• Liaise with R&D engineers and vendors for routine servicing, fault diagnosis, and calibration support.
• Maintain detailed documentation of maintenance, calibration records, servicing logs, and post processing procedures.
• Perform post-processing of collected datasets.
• Conduct QA/QC to ensure data accuracy, consistency, and integrity.
• Statistical analysis, interpretation and report writing.
• Develop, refine, and manage Standard Operating Procedures, risk assessments.
• Support procurement of consumables and equipment required for field and lab operations

Skills

Python

Fieldwork

Problem solving

Attention to detail

Team collaboration

Troubleshooting

Education

Oceanography / Marine Science / Engineering degree

Tools

CTDs

Ocean instrumentation

Data processing software

Job description

Job Title: Research Assistant (Instrumentation)

University-Level Unit: Tropical Marine Science Institute

Faculty/Department-Level Unit: Coastal Marine Cluster

Employee Category: Research Staff

Location_ONB: Kent Ridge Campus

Posting Start Date: 01/10/2026

About

At Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), we acquire high-quality marine environmental data that supports environmental monitoring. The reliability of our work depends on the quality of our instrumentation and the integrity of our data.

As a Research Assistant in Instrumentation, you play a critical role in this process — from ensuring sensors are properly maintained, calibrated and deployed at sea, to validating and processing the data that data users depend on.

Your work directly impacts the credibility and usefulness of our long-term marine environmental datasets.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys both hands-on technical work and analytical problem-solving, and who finds satisfaction in making complex systems work reliably in challenging real-world environments.

Duties and Responsiilities

• Acquisition of oceanographic parameters such as salinity, temperature, turbidity through deployment of multi-sensor systems.
• Participate in regular field trips onboard research vessels (more frequently when required).
• Conduct pre-field preparations, logistics coordination, and post-field checks.
• Troubleshoot instruments in real-time under field conditions, including at sea.
• Set up, calibrate, maintain and conduct instruments verification.
• Liaise with R&D engineers and vendors for routine servicing, fault diagnosis, and calibration support.
• Maintain detailed documentation of maintenance, calibration records, servicing logs, and post processing procedures.
• Perform post-processing of collected datasets.
• Conduct QA/QC to ensure data accuracy, consistency, and integrity.
• Statistical analysis, interpretation and report writing.
• Develop, refine, and manage Standard Operating Procedures, risk assessments.
• Support procurement of consumables and equipment required for field and lab operations

Qualifications And Requirements

You will thrive in this role if you:

• Hold a degree in Oceanography, Marine Science, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering, STEM or a related field.
• Are proficient in data processing and analysis using Python (or equivalent software)
• Are comfortable working at sea and troubleshooting equipment under non-ideal conditions.
• Enjoy understanding how systems work and studying technical manuals and instrument documentation.
• Have mechanical/electrical aptitude and workshop skills for equipment maintenance and fault finding.
• Are resourceful, independent and able to troubleshoot problems and learn new equipment quickly.
• Are meticulous and detail-oriented
• Works well in a small, collaborative team environment.
• Are flexible with working hours when required for field activities.

Preferred Experience

It would be advantageous to have:

• Hands-on experience with CTDs, multi-parameter water-quality sensors, and other oceanographic instrumentation.
• Experience with measuring parameters such as temperature, conductivity/salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and chlorophyll.
• Experience with both profiling and fixed/station deployments of oceanographic instruments.
• Familiarity with common sensor issues such as sensor drift, calibration problems, and sensor/communication errors.
• Experience with QA/QC of oceanographic data (e.g. cross-variable relationships, sensor interference).
• Experience with instrument preparation, calibration and maintenance.
• Experience handling and quality-controlling large environmental datasets and time-series data.
• Experience with long-term marine or environmental monitoring programmes.

Candidates are not expected to have experience with every instrument or sensor used by the team. We value strong technical fundamentals, practical problem-solving skills and a willingness to learn.

Salary

Salary will commensurate with qualifications and experience. The appointment will be for a period of one year and extendable depending upon the candidate’s performance.

Other Benefits

What you can expect from us:

• Your work directly supports long-term marine environment monitoring
• You will gain exposure to real-world oceanographic instrumentation
• You will see the full lifecycle of data: collection, processing, storage and analysis
• Get to work with multi-year, multi-parameter marine environmental datasets
• Not a desk-bound position - a mix of indoor analytical work and outdoor field deployment.
• Opportunities for continuous professional development and upskilling (subject to time and funding).
• Relaxed and supportive team environment.
• Generous leave provisions.