ThinkTank is looking for Survey Coordinator / Analyst - Level III (Mesophotic Deep Benthic Communities) in Panama City, FL. This local job opportunity with ID 3729724240 is live since 2026-06-27 07:57:35.

*US Citizenship Required

*Position is Subject to Contract Award

Location: Panama City, FL (with at-sea travel on NOAA Ships and research vessels)

Client Organization: NOAA Fisheries - SEFSC, Population & Ecosystems Monitoring Division

Overview

Lead survey coordination and scientific analysis for the MDBC survey program (50-1,800 m), supporting DWH oil spill restoration. Serve as Survey Coordinator and/or Field Party Chief for ROV/AUV-based mesophotic and deep benthic reef surveys, and drive data management strategy and peer-reviewed publications.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Coordinate all aspects of MDBC survey preparation, execution, and completion including scheduling, supply/equipment needs, and survey vehicle selection (ROV, AUV).
• Ensure cruise instructions and cruise reports are completed on time; manage participant clearance paperwork.
• Execute at-sea mapping and ground-truthing missions as Field Party Chief or Watch Leader per MDBC SOPs.
• Coordinate daily vessel activities, personnel, movements, ports of call, and weather monitoring.
• Report weekly progress updates to MDBC Project Leads; complete incident reports per NOAA Small Boat Program requirements.
• Serve as subject matter expert in identifying fishes from mesophotic and deep reef habitats.
• Annotate ROV video using C-Vision tools; perform QA/QC review and Oracle database ingest.
• Develop data management strategy in coordination with NCEI and NCCOS Biogeography Branch.
• Manage MDBC database, data backups, and security; support AI/ML data output standards.
• Conduct collation of biological data and acoustic bathymetric data mining; prioritize mapping locations.
• Prepare manuscripts and presentations for peer review; attend professional scientific meetings.
• Participate in public outreach and education activities.

Required Qualifications

• MS Degree or higher in Marine Science or related field, OR BS Degree plus 5 years of relevant experience.
• Advanced proficiency in PRIMER, Microsoft SQL, ArcGIS (Spatial, Geostatistical, and 3D Analyst extensions); college-level writing and oral presentation skills.
• Proficiency in fish, invertebrate, and protected species identification; knowledge of mesophotic and deep reef taxa from the Gulf of America.
• 10 years of experience in at-sea data collection using ROVs, HOVs, and AUVs.
• Ability to collect, process, label, and track marine specimens; barcode label creation experience.
• Expert knowledge of acoustic mapping methodologies; proficiency with multibeam, side-scan, and synthetic aperture sonar data and associated software (ArcGIS, Caris, Seabird, Fledermaus).
• Knowledge of procedures when encountering endangered or threatened species.
• Must meet NOAA OMAO sea-duty medical fitness requirements; current tetanus vaccine required.