Advanced Field Operations & Data Modernization Scientist

• Official Communication: All job offers and communication regarding them will arrive from email addresses ending in .
• Secure Information: We prioritize your data safety. We never request bank information via email or text. Instead, we follow a secure process through our dedicated payroll system.

Openings at Innovate!, Inc

Hiring Transparency:

• Official Communication: All job offers and communication regarding them will arrive from email addresses ending in .
• Secure Information: We prioritize your data safety. We never request bank information via email or text. Instead, we follow a secure process through our dedicated payroll system.

Remember:
If your communication differs from this process, it's not from Innovate.

Location:

Seattle, WA

Position:
Advanced Field Operations & Data Modernization Scientist

Reports To:

FLSA:
Exempt

Location:

Seattle, WA Posted: 7/15/26

Job Description

Embrace the opportunity to join Innovate! Inc. and become a valued member of our team. We are seeking driven individuals who are passionate about leveraging technology to tackle environmental challenges and drive positive change. If you thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and are eager to contribute your skills and expertise to innovative projects, we invite you to explore this exciting opportunity further.

Read on to learn more about how you can be part of our dynamic team.

Innovate! Inc. is seeking a highly experienced Advanced Field Operations & Data Modernization Scientist to modernize NOAA Fisheries’ long-term marine and estuarine field programs by integrating digital data collection technologies, rigorous eDNA sampling, automated ship-to-shore workflows, standardized scientific databases, and rapid data products while protecting survey continuity and scientific integrity.

* Contingent upon contract being awarded*

Location: Work will be conducted on-site at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, Washington (WA) or at one of its associated field stations in WA or Oregon

Salary Range: $115,000 - $135,000

Position status: Full Time; with benefits

Benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K with match, Life Insurance, and PTO

• Lead biological and environmental data collection during estuarine and marine field and ship surveys, maintaining safe and consistent operations.
• Drive transition from analog field recording to digital collection platforms such as electronic measuring boards, ruggedized tablets, mobile applications, and other emerging field technologies.
• Continuously evaluate and implement technologies that improve at-sea efficiency, data quality, and continuity of long-term survey time series.
• Develop rigorous eDNA field protocols and oversee collection, preservation, labeling, metadata capture, anti-contamination procedures, and sample chain of custody.
• Serve as the primary operational liaison with Omics laboratory personnel to ensure samples are appropriately prepared for downstream bioinformatics processing.
• Design, implement, test, and maintain automated ship-to-shore data pipelines connecting raw field observations to organized, accessible scientific databases.
• Develop scripts and workflows that rapidly generate preliminary data products, cruise summaries, standardized datasets, and visualizations immediately following field operations.
• Maintain and optimize project databases, standardize historical and newly digitized datasets, and ensure data are accessible and analysis-ready for interdisciplinary teams.
• Direct mobilization and demobilization of scientific equipment and use modern inventory tracking systems to maintain deployment readiness and accountability.
• Develop comprehensive digital SOPs covering data collection technologies, eDNA sampling, database structures, QA/QC, and data-processing workflows.
• Author technical reports, contribute to peer-reviewed manuscripts, and present field modernization approaches and results at regional and national scientific meetings.

• Demonstrated experience supporting marine, estuarine, and freshwater field operations, with the ability to work safely and effectively in laboratory, office, vessel, and remote field environments.
• Experience implementing and supporting digital field data collection technologies, including electronic data capture, standardized field protocols, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures.
• Knowledge of fisheries and aquatic ecosystem monitoring techniques, biological sampling methodologies, environmental data collection, and scientific data management practices.
• Experience supporting environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling programs, biological sample collection, chain-of-custody procedures, contamination prevention protocols, and coordination with analytical laboratories.
• Proficiency in developing, maintaining, and optimizing scientific databases, digital workflows, and standardized data management processes to improve efficiency, accuracy, and…