Research Scientist - Plankton Biodiversity

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

Permanent

Full time (37 hours per week)

We are the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) - the UK’s leading institution for integrated coastal and deep ocean research. Through our ground-breaking research, collaboration, and game-changing innovation we work to gain a deeper understanding of our ocean, helping every living thing on our planet flourish.

We are made up of a dynamic and vibrant community focused on solving challenging long-term marine science problems, underpinning international and UK public policy, business and societal outcomes.

The ocean has the potential to provide the solutions to so many of the social, economic and environmental challenges we face worldwide. To truly harness the value of the ocean, we put ocean research, science and discovery at the heart of our culture.

Join us in shaping the future of oceanographic research and contribute your unique perspective to our organisation.

You will be joining a dynamic and diverse research team investigating phytoplankton biodiversity and ecological dynamics from the coast to the deep open ocean. You will contribute to a range of funded projects including the global Bio-GO-SHIP biodiversity monitoring programme, investigations of (sub) mesoscale physical-biological interactions (DANCE), and the development of local-scale ecological monitoring for mCDR.

You will undertake research on automated phytoplankton imaging and cytometry, quantification and identification. This role will involve preparing and going to sea to deploy a range of plankton imaging systems, such as the Imaging Flow Cyto Bot (IFCB) and Plankto Scope, as well as lab-based analyses using Flow Cam, flow cytometers and other relevant systems. You will develop and maintain workflows for data quality control, image processing and analysis, and annotation libraries.

You will be a key member of a team working on a wide range of projects in close collaboration with physical oceanographers, biogeochemists, molecular ecologists, engineers and data scientists.

You are passionate about phytoplankton ecology and excited to join a multidisciplinary team tackling questions about the physical, chemical and biological controls on phytoplankton biodiversity and activity in the ocean. You have a good understanding of ocean circulation processes and physical-biological coupling.

You have deep experience using phytoplankton imaging instruments, such as the IFCB, managing plankton image datasets, and generating taxonomic and trait information from plankton image data. You have at least a basic knowledge of phytoplankton taxonomy and experience in taxonomic identification either by microscopy or imaging.

You are able to combine ecological and biogeochemical datasets with oceanographic data (e.g. underway systems, CTD, satellite products). You are well-versed in data analysis using tools like R or Python and have a good understanding of multivariate statistics and machine learning.

You are comfortable with planning and participating in oceanographic cruises and can communicate effectively with project partners and collaborators from a wide range of backgrounds.

You are independent, creative and collaborative.

We offer a generous set of benefits, including:

• 30 days contractual annual leave, plus 3.5 extra closure days and bank holidays
• a 10% employer contribution pension scheme (with a 15% NI saving on employee contributions made above 5%, if in the salary sacrifice scheme)
• Death in Service (3 times annual salary) provided by Aviva from day one of employment, plus access to a range of other Aviva wellbeing services
• financial support for relocation
• a salary sacrifice scheme for electric / hybrid vehicles (qualifying period applies)
• access to our Employee Assistance Programme, offering free and confidential support on mental, physical, emotional, health and financial issues
• access to a flexible benefits portal offering online discounts, cashback and eGift cards
• a Cycle2
  
  Work scheme allowing employees to acquire bikes and accessories
• a great working environment with a number of social events, including summer and Christmas…