Fisheries Research Associate — Field & Data Scientist

Jobtailor; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

NOAA Fisheries on the U.S. West Coast seeks a data‑driven ecologist to collect and analyze aquatic data across freshwater, estuarine and nearshore environments. You will perform fieldwork outdoors and assist ship surveys as needed, using R and GitHub for analysis and reporting.

Responsibilities include data visualization, literature reviews, and collaboration to improve decision tools. Strong communication and a Bachelor’s degree in a related field are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a field related to fisheries, ecology or natural sciences.
• Strong written and spoken communication skills.
• Experience writing reports and publishing peer‑reviewed articles.
• Familiarity with Google Suite and Microsoft Office.
• Strong quantitative skills including modeling and data analysis.
• Experience with R and GitHub.

Responsibilities

• Collect fish and environmental data across West Coast freshwater, estuarine, and nearshore areas.
• Conduct fieldwork outdoors, sometimes in harsh conditions.
• Operate vehicles/boats and assist ship surveys as needed.
• Run occasional lab experiments and data processing tasks.
• Visualize and analyze data; conduct literature reviews.
• Collaborate to develop tools improving transparency and decision‑making.
• Share workflow protocols and research outputs for reproducibility.
• Write reports, contribute to manuscripts, and present results.
• Participate in field/lab activities coordinated by NOAA Fisheries West Coast.
• Document sample collection, storage, and processing per protocol.
• Maintain reproducible workflows and organized analysis products.
• Provide written status updates as needed.

Skills

Data analysis

Verbal & written communication

Time management

Independent work

Team collaboration

Laboratory work

Education

Bachelor's degree in fisheries / ecology / natural sciences / math / statistics / oceanography / hydrology

Tools

R

GitHub

Google Suite

Microsoft Office

Job description

NOAA Fisheries on the U.S. West Coast seeks a data‑driven ecologist to collect and analyze aquatic data across freshwater, estuarine and nearshore environments. You will perform fieldwork outdoors and assist ship surveys as needed, using R and GitHub for analysis and reporting.

Responsibilities include data visualization, literature reviews, and collaboration to improve decision tools. Strong communication and a Bachelor’s degree in a related field are required.