Ocean Associates Inc. (OAI) is seeking an applicant to provide Data Management And Analysis Support to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), Ecosystem Science Division (ESD) in La Jolla, CA. OAI is a Virginia corporation established in 2003 that provides consulting and technical services to the U.S. government, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and the private sector. We specialize in scientific program and project management, strategic planning, professional and technical services, and stakeholder engagement, supporting government contracts.

Background

The Ecosystem Science Division (ESD) collects ecosystem observations that characterize the physical environment and organisms living therein, synthesizes ecosystem information, applies models, and collaborates broadly to provide scientific evidence that promotes sustainable fisheries and conservation of protected resources and builds resilience to change. The ESD’s work is guided by several Federal mandates, including the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2007, and the Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act of 1984. Several programs within the ESD conduct research to support commercially valuable fisheries, to monitor environmental parameters affecting stock productivity, to support U.S. interests related to resource management by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and to comply with recent White House executive orders and strategic objectives identified by NOAA Leadership by investing considerable effort in using autonomous technology to modernize data collection and by gathering high-resolution data to improve the responsiveness of fisheries management to real-time ocean conditions. The ESD collects ecosystem data using advanced technologies (e.g., cameras mounted on underwater gliders, aerial imaging systems, animal-borne video loggers, and remote trail cameras) to monitor marine and terrestrial environments. These technologies generate vast amounts of data, requiring automated workflows for processing. Support is needed to evaluate, modify, develop, and implement Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) processing workflows for imagery data.

Tasks

Work will be conducted in ESD workspaces to perform tasks related to developing and operationalizing AI/ML workflows for automated data analysis. Support will include but not be limited to the following:

• Develop new capabilities including data management systems and integrated workflows to increase efficiency of processing and preparing data for research projects and AI/ML model development.
• Explore various optical imagery data for the design, development, evaluation, and application of AI/ML capabilities, edge computing, and new automated analytic workflows.
• Develop or adapt software for various applications (optical imagery processing, web-based dashboards) using Python and/or C/C++.
• Work in the Google Cloud Platform to deploy models using virtual machines (VMs).
• Execute technical research projects, track progress, and present technical material in a variety of forums (weekly team meetings, conferences, working groups, program reviews, etc.).
• Monthly Progress Reports reflecting the status and progress of all tasks .

Start Date: 09/30/2026

Location: Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, CA.

Travel: Some travel is possible

Salary and Benefits: This is a full-time position with benefits. Salary, commensurate with experience, between $30.00 - $33.50 per hour.

Requirements

Applicants must have the following minimum requirements:

• Bachelor's degree, or higher, from an accredited college or university with a major in a field related to mathematics, statistics, computer science, computational science, or data science, plus four (4) years of experience in a related field or combination of such totaling eight (8) years combined education and experience. Master’s Degree in a related field plus two (2) years’ experience or Ph.D. may be substituted for experience
• Experience coding in Python, R, and C/C++
• Experience developing automated workflows
• Experience maintaining application software and data management tools
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively both individually and collaboratively in a team/group setting.
• Ability to receive constructive feedback and implement appropriate action.