Field Party Chief & Component Lead II — Mesophotic Deep Benthic Communities Survey

Think Tank•Panama City Beach, FL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

This position serves as Field Party Chief and Survey Watch Stander for Mesophotic Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) surveys and participates in other PEMD resource surveys as requested. SEFSC-PEMD personnel are critical collaborators in restoration work responding to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, surveying mesophotic and deep benthic reef communities (50–1,800 m) via ROV/AUV platforms, acoustic mapping, and ground-truthing.

Requirements

MS degree in Marine Science or a related field, or BS degree plus 3 years of relevant experience.
Computer literate with common word processing, database, statistical, and graphics programs; capable of college-level reports and oral presentations.
Knowledge of ArcGIS, including Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst extensions, for mission planning and spatial-distribution evaluation.
Knowledge of MDBC field sampling protocols to lead or participate in surveys.
Functional knowledge of ROV, AUV, and UUV operations, including developing logistical plans for at-sea operations using these assets.
Experience as lead data collector on at-sea surveys; skilled with shipboard software handling hydrological and biological data streams.
Proficient in fish, invertebrate, and protected species identification; knowledge of Gulf of America reef taxa.
Expert knowledge of major structure-forming invertebrates in mesophotic and deep benthic communities of the Gulf of America.
Knowledge of procedures for encountering endangered or threatened species.
Sea-going contractors on OMAO NOAA ships must submit a NOAA Health Services Questionnaire (Form 57-10-01) and Tuberculosis Screening Form (NF 57-10-02) annually/biennially, and must have a current tetanus vaccine (within 10 years).

Responsibilities

Assisting MDBC Project Management Leads with survey preparation, execution, and completion, including schedules, supply/equipment coordination, and selection of survey vehicles (e.g., AUV).
Writing cruise instructions and reports on time; following through on participant clearance paperwork.
Executing at-sea mapping and ground-truthing missions as Field Party Chief or Watch Leader.
Pre- and post-survey inventory and maintenance of equipment and gear.
Coordinating daily vessel activities, personnel, vessel position/movements, ports of call, and weather/sea conditions.
Conducting data collection and sampling per prescribed MDBC SOP.
Reporting weekly progress (or issues requiring plan changes) to MDBC Project Leads.
Completing incident reporting procedures per NOAA Small Boat Program requirements (small boat operations only).
Serving as subject-matter expert and leadership on a component of the MDBC survey, including identifying marine fishes in all life stages from mesophotic and deep reef habitats.
Performing video annotation, review, and data QA/QC of ROV-based footage; review of data entry.
Managing review/tracking sheets; updating project management and annotation tracking tools.
Leading an aspect of data projects as subject-matter expert (e.g., data applications) on MDBC databases.
Coordinating with NCEI and NCCOS Biogeography Branch to integrate existing bathymetric data (U.S. EEZ Gulf of Mexico, 50–1,800 m).
Helping manage the MDBC database, applications, and survey SOP (including metadata).
Managing data backups/security with OMI personnel.
Integrating new automated data outputs to meet AI/ML interoperability standards.
Managing video data annotation entry projects and maintaining project management tools.
Collating existing biological data and mining acoustic/bathymetric data for mesophotic and deep benthic reefs in the U.S. Gulf of America EEZ.
Maintaining knowledge of relevant literature; supporting data analyses and summaries.
Maintaining project management tool updates.
Developing data reports and presentations; assisting with manuscripts per SEFSC publication procedures.
Coordinating abstracts, presentations, and publications.
Attending professional meetings and publishing in peer-reviewed literature.
Participating in public outreach and education efforts, e.g., school programs, science fair judging, facility/ship tours, and outreach booths.
Preparing for and presenting, facilitating, or participating in position-related workshops, scientific meetings, symposiums, and public forums, presenting scientific results as required.