Survey Coordinator & Analyst III – Mesophotic Deep Benthic Communities

About the role

The Survey Coordinator and Analyst III leads the coordination of Mesophotic Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) surveys for NOAA SEFSC's Population and Ecosystems Monitoring Division. The role supports DWH oil spill restoration, oversees ROV/AUV operations, manages data workflows, and publishes peer‑reviewed research on deep reef habitats.

Key responsibilities

• Coordinate all aspects of MDBC survey preparation, execution, and completion, including schedules, equipment, and vehicle selection.
• Serve as Field Party Chief or Watch Leader, executing at‑sea mapping and ground‑truthing missions.
• Manage daily vessel activities, personnel, ports of call, and weather/sea conditions.
• Identify marine fishes in mesophotic and deep reef habitats as a subject‑matter expert.
• Perform video annotation, review, and QA/QC of ROV footage using C‑Vision tools.
• Develop and maintain data management strategies with NCEI and NCCOS, handling database ingestion, standardization, backups, and security.
• Integrate AI/ML outputs and mine acoustic bathymetric data for reef prioritization.
• Prepare and defend abundance analyses for management decisions and publish findings.
• Present results at scientific meetings and engage in public outreach.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant scientific field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in marine survey coordination or related research.
• Advanced proficiency in scientific data analysis and reporting.

Required skills

• PRIMER software
• Microsoft SQL
• ArcGIS (Spatial, Geostatistical, 3D Analyst extensions)
• C‑Vision video annotation tools

What we offer

• Hourly compensation negotiated based on experience.
• Full‑time position with health and dental insurance, vacation, sick and holiday benefits.