Software Engineer – FAIR Data Infrastructure

MBARI; California; On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental and vision

Paid time off

Job summary

MBARI seeks a Software/Data Engineer on a two-year term in Moss Landing, CA, to advance a FAIR data infrastructure initiative. You will assess MBARI's data ecosystem, design prototype connections to external repositories, and document pipelines spanning multiple science programs.

Qualifications include 5+ years in software/data engineering, Python, REST/messaging, SQL, Linux/Unix, and strong communication skills. You will collaborate across science, engineering, and operations teams.

Qualifications

• Five or more years of professional software or data engineering experience.
• Familiarity with FAIR data principles and practices.
• Experience building or maintaining data pipelines for structured scientific data.
• Proficiency in Python, with experience working with scientific data formats and REST/messaging APIs.
• Experience with relational databases, including designing schemas and writing queries.
• Proficiency with Linux/Unix environments, including command-line tools, shell scripting, and version control.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document technical systems.
• Ability to work independently and within multidisciplinary groups spanning science, engineering, and operations.

Responsibilities

• Assess MBARI's data ecosystem and document data pipelines across programs.
• Build prototype connections between MBARI systems and external repositories.
• Contribute to governance frameworks covering DOI versioning, embargo policies, and data attribution standards.

Skills

Experience 5+ yrs

FAIR principles

Data pipelines

Python

REST/messaging APIs

Relational databases

Linux/Unix

Documentation ability

Communication skills

Independent work in teams

Tools

Docker/Podman

Cloud storage

Job description

Founded in 1987 by the late David Packard, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a nonprofit oceanographic research center advancing marine science and engineering to understand our changing ocean. Located in Moss Landing, California, the heart of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, MBARI offers ready access to the open ocean and deep sea. Ongoing research programs range across autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicle systems, control technologies, ocean physics, chemistry, geology, biology, ocean instrumentation, and information management. MBARI hosts approximately 200 employees, with shore facilities that include state-of-the-art science and engineering laboratories, manufacturing and electrical fabrication shops, and dock facilities for MBARI vessels.

MBARI’s engineering department is seeking a Software/Data Engineer for a two-year term position supporting a strategic initiative to make MBARI’s ocean science data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). This position is based at our state-of-the-art facilities in Moss Landing, CA.

Over nearly four decades, MBARI has assembled a rich marine science archive spanning physical and chemical oceanographic time series, seafloor mapping surveys, expert-curated deep-sea video annotations, and data streams from autonomous platforms and environmental DNA studies. The FAIR Data Infrastructure project will build a standards-compliant layer on top of these existing systems, making MBARI’s data holdings globally discoverable, citable, machine-accessible, and ready for use in modern AI/ML workflows through persistent identifiers (DOIs), standardized metadata, and registration with recognized global repositories such as BCO-DMO, R2R, PANGAEA, OBIS, and others.

The engineer in this role will work closely with scientists, data system and software engineers, and external repository experts to assess MBARI’s current data ecosystem, build prototype connections between MBARI systems and external repositories, document data pipelines across science programs, and contribute to governance frameworks covering DOI versioning, embargo policies, and data attribution standards. This role requires someone who thrives at the intersection of software engineering and scientific data stewardship.

Required qualifications:

• Five or more years of professional software or data engineering experience, preferably in scientific research computing or environmental data management
• Familiarity with FAIR data principles and practices (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)
• Experience building or maintaining data pipelines for structured scientific data, including ingestion, quality control, and publication workflows
• Proficiency in Python, with experience working with scientific data formats and REST/messaging APIs
• Experience with relational databases, including designing schemas and writing queries
• Proficiency with Linux/Unix environments, including command-line tools, shell scripting, and version control
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document technical systems for scientific and general audiences
• Ability to work independently and within multidisciplinary groups spanning science, engineering, and operations

Desired qualifications:

• Experience submitting data to recognized scientific repositories (e.g., BCO-DMO, R2R, PANGAEA, OBIS, SESAR/IGSN, NCEI, or NCBI SRA)
• Familiarity with persistent identifier systems such as DOIs and with metadata standards used in oceanographic or environmental science (CF Conventions, Darwin Core, WoRMS, FAIRe, etc.)
• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker/Podman) and cloud storage platforms
• Background in marine science, oceanography, or environmental remote sensing
• Familiarity with oceanographic data types including time-series, acoustic/sonar, biological annotation, or environmental DNA data
• Experience with data governance frameworks including embargo policies, attribution standards, and versioning practices

Job Code: Software Eng – FAIR

Salary range:
$130,000 - $150,000/annually

MBARI offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, 403B retirement plan, and paid time out, such as vacation, holiday, and sick leave.

MBARI is a non-profit, private oceanographic research institute, and an equal opportunity employer.

MBARI considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, age, disability, covered veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, and local laws.

MBARI welcomes diversity.