Sea-Going Biological Technician (Field Scientist)

Omni Tax Solutions; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Orchard is hiring Biological Technicians (Levels I–III) to support NOAA Fisheries’ Ecosystem Surveys Branch. You will collect and process biological samples and environmental data during fishery-independent surveys, participating in at-sea missions and QA/QC of data, while contributing to reports and outreach.

You may train Levels II & III staff, support equipment and vessel logistics, and help with protocol development and database management in a hands-on field setting.

Qualifications

• Experience aboard research or commercial vessels.
• Ability to work 12-hour shifts at sea for trips lasting up to 3 weeks.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; familiarity with data entry and QA/QC practices.
• Valid driver’s license.

Responsibilities

• Participate in sea-going surveys aboard NOAA and partner vessels (sorting, identifying, weighing, measuring fish/invertebrates, collecting biological samples for age, growth, maturity, genetics, diet).
• Stand scientific watches of up to 12 hours/day at sea.
• Operate electronic data acquisition systems for fisheries and oceanographic sampling.
• Assist with deployment, calibration, and maintenance of survey gear, acoustics, and optical/video equipment.
• Conduct QA/QC of survey data using NOAA protocols; prepare documentation of sampling procedures and metadata.
• Annotate benthic imagery and optical survey data as directed.
• Maintain, repair, and inventory sampling hardware (measuring boards, motion-compensated scales, barcode systems, touch screens).
• Support cruise staging/de-staging, equipment prep, and vessel logistics.
• Contribute to laboratory analysis of biological samples and assist with database management.
• Train new staff (Levels II & III) and provide leadership of field parties/watches at sea (Level III).
• Summarize survey data, assist with reports, and contribute to outreach materials (manuals, protocols, blogs, newsletters).

Skills

Marine species identification

Teamwork

Communication

Microsoft Office

Data QA/QC

Driver's license

Vessel/Seagoing experience

Education

Biological sciences coursework

Tools

Electronic data acquisition systems

Survey gear operation

Barcode systems

Scales

Acoustic nets equipment

Relational databases (Oracle)

Job description

Orchard is hiring Biological Technicians (Levels I–III) to support NOAA Fisheries’ Ecosystem Surveys Branch. You will collect and process biological samples and environmental data during fishery-independent surveys, participating in at-sea missions and QA/QC of data, while contributing to reports and outreach.

You may train Levels II & III staff, support equipment and vessel logistics, and help with protocol development and database management in a hands-on field setting.