Research Assistant Intern (Water)

Woodwell Climate Research Center • Falmouth, MA

8d • Onsite

About The Position

Join Woodwell’s 2026 Summer Internship Program as a Research Assistant Intern in aquatic ecology and water chemistry in the Water program. The Research Assistant Intern will conduct field work on a project that measures water quality in Buzzards Bay estuaries using both wet chemistry and continuously-recording dataloggers. Field work will involve water collections in shallow estuaries, deployment, and maintenance of both loggers at fixed locations and loggers deployed on robotic gliders. Be part of a multi-disciplinary team that includes scientists from the Woodwell Center, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and scientists at the Buzzards Bay Coalition, a regional non-profit organization. In this role, the intern will gain experience through field and laboratory work across fields including water chemistry, data management, and data analysis of the factors that control estuarine water quality. The applicant will gain experience through field and laboratory work across fields including the social science of what motivates water quality volunteers, water chemistry, data management and data analysis of the factors that control estuarine water quality.

Requirements

• Demonstrated organizational skills, the ability to work as a member of a team, and the ability to communicate with colleagues
• Demonstrated skills in data organization and analysis
• Ability to work independently as well as productively as part of a team
• Basic proficiency with word processing, data management and presentation software (e.g., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint or equivalent programs)
• Willingness to operate small boats or willingness to take safety courses to become certified
• Demonstrated skills in data organization and analysis
• Ability and willingness to endure exposure to sun and occasional insects, ticks, and poison ivy
• Ability and capable of rigorous outdoor activity (lifting 25+ pounds, bending, carrying heavy equipment, and walking through uneven terrain, waist-high waters and marsh)
• Ability to visit multiple local field sites
• Ability for local travel at various locations for field work within in Massachusetts
• Willingness to operate small boats or willingness to take safety course to become certified.
• Must be enrolled in an undergraduate program within Environmental Science, Ecology, Botany, Biology, Chemistry, Ecology, Marine Biology, Natural Resources or related field
• Must be eligible to work for Woodwell Climate in the US without visa sponsorship now or in the future

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with best practices for field safety and/or some field experience preferred

Responsibilities

• Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in aquatic ecology and water chemistry
• Participate in field and laboratory measurements of water quality
• Process and analyze project data
• Travel to several Buzzards Bay field sites at various designated times throughout the day and week
• Conduct an independent project using data collected

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Intern