Sr Research Staff Assistant

• Job Type: Support Staff - Non-Union
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule:
• Building:
• Salary Range: $65,000-$66,995

Position Summary

The Senior Research Staff Assistant will contribute to high-level data stewardship and synthesis efforts within the Marine and Large Programs Division, with a focus on the GEBCO-Nippon Foundation Seabed 2030 Project, the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS), and the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) Synthesis. Will contribute to the processing, integration, validation, and quality control of marine geoscience data for public access. This includes multibeam bathymetric data from a variety of sources, as well as accompanying metadata. Will also support capacity-building, workflow development, stakeholder engagement, and contribute to the development of training and outreach materials.

Responsibilities

• Review, process and integrate multibeam bathymetric data for Seabed 2030 and GMRT, including quality review of datasets and metadata. Support global data compilation efforts by exercising and contributing to improved workflows for data and metadata validation.
• Execute data ingestion and curation workflows for MGDS, developing and executing configuration files that drive existing workflows, and contributing to improvements in documentation.
• Contribute to the enhancement of training and documentation materials for internal use and external collaborators, including tutorials, best practices, and standard operation procedures for data processing, QC, and curation.
• Participate in stakeholder engagement, capacity-building activities, and community workshops, including content development, delivery, and representation at meetings and conferences.
• Other duties as assigned, including participation in collaborative research, system development, and report preparation.
• Will work under the close supervision of the PI/Senior Research Scientist and may use some independent judgement and initiative within defined parameters.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a scientific discipline is required. Minimum of 2 years of experience in a research environment is required. 
• Experience with multibeam sonar data processing and marine geoscience data systems.
• Proficiency in software tools such as Caris, Qimera, MBSystem, and familiarity with UNIX/Linux environments.
• Demonstrated ability in Python, shell scripting, or similar for workflow automation and data manipulation.
• Experience with GIS tools (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS, GeoMapApp) and spatial data management.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience preparing material for presentation, websites, or training is a plus. 
• Familiarity with international data standards and collaborative marine research is highly desirable. 

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.