Laboratory Technician 2 (Internal Employment Opportunity)

# Department:
Division of Research and Innovation

Special Instructions to Applicants:

This is an Internal Employment Opportunity.

When applying you will be required to attach the following electronic documents:

1) A resume/CV; and

2) A cover letter indicating how your qualifications and experience have prepared you for this position.

Starting salary will be commensurate with skills, education, and experience.

For additional information please contact: Kaydee Erdmann at [email protected] or 541-867-0283.

Job Summary:

This is an Internal Employment Opportunity.

This recruitment will be used to fill one full-time, Laboratory Technician 2 position for the Cooperative Institute of Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (CIMERS) at Oregon State University (OSU). This position is located in Newport, Oregon. This is a limited duration appointment expected to last approximately 8 months from the appointment begin date.

Key Responsibilities:

- Participates in, and help prepares for, oceanographic surveys on research vessels to sample nutrients, phytoplankton and zooplankton, and conducts experiments at sea and in the lab.
- Processes oceanographic data and co-develops physical and ecological indicators.
- Uses R or other coding language to develop and streamline data visualization of complex oceanographic data.
- Processes water samples for extracted chlorophyll.
- Enters final, reviewed data into Microsoft Access database.
- Analyzes biophysical data to understand biophysical drivers of zooplankton distribution and abundance.

The Laboratory Technician will work with a multidisciplinary team of researchers—from Oregon State University (OSU), the Cooperative Institute of Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (CIMERS), and NOAA Fisheries—to understand the connectivity between climate variability and marine ecosystem productivity. The incumbent will be part of a team that maintains a relatively high-frequency (biweekly to monthly) 25+ year time series of physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic metrics collected along the continental shelf and slope (2 – 46 km from shore) off Newport, OR. The incumbent will be expected to spend up to 40 days at sea over multiple research surveys 1 – 14 days in length.

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This position contributes to our understanding of the linkages between biogeochemical cycling, phytoplankton, and zooplankton production and diversity. Much of the effort of this position will be sampling at sea and working with zooplankton data to understand how changing ocean conditions affect zooplankton distribution and abundance for fisheries. The Laboratory Technician will also help us develop data visualization tools to synthesize multiple data streams at once to understand complex biophysical patterns across trophic levels. These efforts contribute to understanding how ocean ecosystem indicators are related to salmon survival and other higher trophic levels.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:

- Two years of experience performing routine, standardized analytical tests and laboratory procedures in accordance with well-defined written instructions and high school courses in chemistry, biology, mathematics, or any course which included laboratory work; OR  An equivalent combination of training and experience.

Additional:

- One year of experience collecting biophysical data at sea or a Bachelor’s degree  in marine biology and/or oceanography.

This position is designated as a critical or security-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a criminal history check and be determined to be position qualified as per University Standard: 05-010 et seq. Incumbents are required to self-report convictions and those in youth programs may have additional criminal history checks every 24 months.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Bachelor’s degree in Oceanography or Marine Biology, at sea field experience aboard oceanographic vessels, coding skills in R and/or Python.

# Working Conditions/Schedule:
The position involves collecting samples aboard a research vessel which can occur in adverse conditions, during off hours and/or for up to 20 days at sea per trip and up to two trips per year.

Salary Range:

$20.98 - $31.63

# Anticipated Start Date:
2026-10-12

# Anticipated End Date:
2027-06-30

When applying, please keep in mind this posting will close at 11:59 pm the night before the posted "end date". Applications MUST be submitted prior to this deadline.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability, protected veteran, and other protected status.

OSU will conduct a review of the National Sex Offender Public website prior to hire.

OSU is a fair chance employer committed to inclusive hiring. We encourage applications from candidates who bring a wide range of lived experience including involvement with the justice system. If this position has “critical or security-sensitive” responsibilities and/or driving duties and you are selected as a finalist, your initial job offer will be contingent upon the results of a job-related pre-employment check (such as a background check, motor vehicle history check, sexual misconduct reference check, etc.). Background check results do not automatically disqualify a candidate. Take a look at our Background Checks website including the for candidates section for more details. If you have questions or concerns about the pre-employment check, please contact OSU’s Employee and Labor Relations team at [email protected] .