Software Engineer – FAIR Data Infrastructure

Software Engineer - FAIR Data Infrastructure • MBARI

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• Our Work
• Our Work

MBARI creates and globally scales the visionary technologies required to explore, map, and understand our changing ocean.

• Our Work Sub

• Research & Development

• Focus Areas

• Teams

• Projects

• Data & Repositories

• Publications

• Expeditions

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• All Technologies

• Instruments

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• Marine Operations

• Monterey Bay Today

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• Our People

• Our People

MBARI staff are driven by a curiosity to learn more about the ocean and a passion to protect its future.

• Our People Sub
• Leadership & Staff

Meet our staff, leadership, and board of directors.

• Collaboration in Action

Get an insider's look at our team's work.

• Internship Impacts

Launching the next generation of ocean explorers.

• Navigating STEM Careers

Learn how some of our staff navigated to a career at MBARI.

• Education
• Education

Resources for educators, students, and anyone aspiring to learn how science and technology brings us closer to the ocean.

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• EARTH Curriculum

Integrate MBARI data with lesson plans and workshops.

• Animals of the Deep

Discover deep-sea critters, including exclusive footage and info.

• Know Your Ocean

Dive into topics about ocean health and its fascinating features.

• Deep-Sea Guide

Explore deep-sea observations with this interactive guide.

• Library

Learn about the MLML/MBARI Research Library.

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Access more educational resources from the teams at MBARI.

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Software Engineer - FAIR Data Infrastructure

Software Engineer - FAIR Data Infrastructure

Founded in 1987 by the late David Packard, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a nonprofit oceanographic research center advancing marine science and engineering to understand our changing ocean. Located in Moss Landing, California, the heart of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, MBARI offers ready access to the open ocean and deep sea. Ongoing research programs range across autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicle systems, control technologies, ocean physics, chemistry, geology, biology, ocean instrumentation, and information management. MBARI hosts approximately 200 employees, with shore facilities that include state-of-the-art science and engineering laboratories, manufacturing and electrical fabrication shops, and dock facilities for MBARI vessels.

MBARI's engineering department is seeking a Software/Data Engineer for a two-year term position supporting a strategic initiative to make MBARI's ocean science data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). This position is based at our state-of-the-art facilities in Moss Landing, CA.

Over nearly four decades, MBARI has assembled a rich marine science archive spanning physical and chemical oceanographic time series, seafloor mapping surveys, expert-curated deep-sea video annotations, and data streams from autonomous platforms and environmental DNA studies. The FAIR Data Infrastructure project will build a standards-compliant layer on top of these existing systems, making MBARI's data holdings globally discoverable, citable, machine-accessible, and ready for use in modern AI/ML workflows through persistent identifiers (DOIs), standardized metadata, and registration with recognized global repositories such as BCO-DMO, R2R, PANGAEA, OBIS, and others.

The engineer in this role will work closely with scientists, data system and software engineers, and external repository experts to assess MBARI's current data ecosystem, build prototype connections between MBARI systems and external repositories, document data pipelines across science programs, and contribute to governance frameworks covering DOI versioning, embargo policies, and data attribution standards. This role requires someone who thrives at the intersection of software engineering and scientific data stewardship.

Required qualifications:

• Five or more years of professional software or data engineering experience, preferably in scientific research computing or environmental data management
• Familiarity with FAIR data principles and practices (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)
• Experience building or maintaining data pipelines for structured scientific data, including ingestion, quality control, and publication workflows
• Proficiency in Python, with experience working with scientific data formats and REST/messaging APIs
• Experience with relational databases, including designing schemas and writing queries
• Proficiency with Linux/Unix environments, including command-line tools, shell scripting, and version control
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document technical systems for scientific and general audiences
• Ability to work independently and within multidisciplinary groups spanning science, engineering, and operations

Desired qualifications:

• Experience submitting data to recognized scientific repositories (e.g., BCO-DMO, R2R, PANGAEA, OBIS, SESAR/IGSN, NCEI, or NCBI SRA)
• Familiarity with persistent identifier systems such as DOIs and with metadata standards used in oceanographic or environmental science (CF Conventions, Darwin Core, WoRMS, FAIRe, etc.)
• Experience with containerization technologies (Docker/Podman) and cloud storage platforms
• Background in marine science, oceanography, or environmental remote sensing
• Familiarity with oceanographic data types including time-series, acoustic/sonar, biological annotation, or environmental DNA data
• Experience with data governance frameworks including embargo policies, attribution standards, and versioning practices

Ready to apply?

Job Code: Software Eng - FAIR

Please submit a cover letter and a resume by e-mail to jobs@mbari.org, or by mail to the address below.

MBARI

Jessica Chapman

7700 Sandholdt Road

Moss Landing, CA 95039

Salary range:

$130,000 - $150,000/annually

MBARI offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, 403B retirement plan, and paid time off, such as vacation, holiday, and sick leave.

MBARI is a non-profit, private oceanographic research institute, and an equal opportunity employer. MBARI considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, age, disability, covered veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, and local laws. MBARI welcomes diversity.

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