Field Marine Mammal Research Assistant — Data & Field Ops

OSU Oregon State University; Newport (RI); On-site; USD 32,000 - 54,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision benefits

Tuition reduction programs

Paid leave and holidays

Retirement benefits

Flexible work arrangements

Job summary

Oregon State University’s GEMM Lab in Newport seeks a Faculty Research Assistant to support the Marine Mammal Institute’s research activities. The role involves field operations, data management, and lab responsibilities within a collaborative team.

The position requires extensive experience with marine mammal observation, small-boat operations, and ecological data collection, including photo-ID and drone work.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in natural sciences with 2 years of significant research experience.
• Master’s degree in natural sciences.
• Experience as a marine mammal observer.
• Extensive experience driving small boats around cetaceans.
• Experience in ecological data collection including photo-ID, drone operations, suction-cup tagging, biopsy.
• Strong organizational and communication skills.
• Experience using MS Access, ArcGIS, Matlab.
• Experience with R for data wrangling, analysis and visualization.
• Record of scientific publication as lead or co-author.

Responsibilities

• Operate small boat around cetaceans for ecological data collection.
• Perform routine maintenance on research vessel, truck and trailer.
• Conduct marine mammal survey observations aboard helicopters and research vessels.
• Oversee equipment maintenance, storage and organization.
• Data management and sample storage/archiving.
• Process and organize photo-ID images.

Skills

Marine mammal observer

Small boat operation

Data management

Communication

Team collaboration

Independent work

Vehicle operation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in natural sciences

Master’s degree in natural sciences

Tools

Microsoft Access

ArcGIS

Matlab

R programming

Job description

Oregon State University’s GEMM Lab in Newport seeks a Faculty Research Assistant to support the Marine Mammal Institute’s research activities. The role involves field operations, data management, and lab responsibilities within a collaborative team.

The position requires extensive experience with marine mammal observation, small-boat operations, and ecological data collection, including photo-ID and drone work.