The Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) is seeking one Engagement Fellow to join our small, mission-driven team for a hands-on, mentored fellowship experience at the intersection of ocean and Great Lakes science, community engagement, and public service. This fellowship is designed as an extension of a student's graduate education: an opportunity to grow into new skills, gain exposure to the day-to-day work of a regional nonprofit that serves both the scientific community and the general public, and build a career in Great Lakes and coastal science policy and engagement.

The GLOS Great Lakes Engagement Fellowship is a one year opportunity and will begin January 4, 2027 and will end January 3, 2028. Students who have recently completed, or are within one academic term of completing, a graduate degree or professional program at an accredited U.S. or Canadian institution are eligible for the fellowship. Applicants must demonstrate interest in Great Lakes resources, community and participatory science, and the binational policy decisions that affect those resources.

About the Fellowship Experience:
Working with mentors from GLOS, and interacting with partner organizations from around the region, Great Lakes Fellows work will support GLOS's Service Delivery and Communications activities, which connect directly to a national, multi-year initiative that brings together all eleven Regional Associations of NOAA's Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) to strengthen how ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes data reach the communities who rely on them. Through this placement, the Fellow will contribute to both a regional program serving the Great Lakes and a pan-regional, national community of practice, gaining a rare vantage point on how local engagement work scales into national impact. This may include surveying Indigenous communities about observing asset and data needs; synthesizing engagement activities and needs of GLOS-led community of practice groups such as Lakebed 2030 and the Smart Great Lakes Initiative, and assisting with community workshops and data user needs assessments related to GLOS’s data platform Seagull.

Our fellowship program is one way GLOS seeks to help meet the region's science-policy workforce needs, support a pipeline of professionals ready to address complex environmental challenges, and contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of the Great Lakes' water resources.

Funding
The fellowship will provide a total package of $40,000 in stipend, benefits, and travel. 

The Fellow will receive $35,000 as a stipend to cover living expenses. Of the remaining funds, GLOS provides up to $5,000 to cover health insurance and relocation expenses; any remaining balance shall be used first to satisfy academic degree-related activities, and second for fellowship-related activities. Up to $2,000 of the total package can be used to cover travel related to professional development activities during the year.

During the fellowship, GLOS may provide supplemental funds for work-related travel by the Fellow, such as attendance at Great Lakes science or policy conferences. 

Indirect costs are not allowable from fellowship funds, either for the fellowship itself or for any costs associated with it.