Survey Watch Stander / Video Annotator - Level I (Gulf Video Survey)

Job Description

Job Description

*US Citizenship Required

*Position is Subject to Contract Award

Location: Pascagoula, MS or Panama City, FL (with at-sea travel on NOAA Ships and research vessels)

Client Organization: NOAA Fisheries – Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), Population & Ecosystems Monitoring Division

Overview

Support reef fish surveys conducted aboard NOAA Ships and small research vessels as a Survey Watch Stander and contribute to video annotation and data management in the GCRF Gulf Video Survey program. This is an entry-level role focused on learning at-sea survey protocols and laboratory video annotation procedures.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as survey watch stander during reef fish surveys (G-FISHER, PRDW) on NOAA Ships and small research vessels.
• Perform pre- and post-survey inventory, preparation, and maintenance of equipment and gear.
• Conduct data collection, biological and environmental sampling, and log/process data and samples under field conditions following prescribed SOPs.
• Unload, clean, and store gear; appropriately store data upon survey completion.
• Learn annotation SOPs for GFISHER and PRDW video data; identify marine fishes in all life stages from Gulf of America habitats.
• Execute semi-automated video annotation workflow: automated processing (Google Cloud Platform / VIAME), human-in-the-loop review, QA/QC, and ingest into GCRF Oracle databases.
• Update annotation tracking sheets and GitHub project management tools.
• Communicate with reviewers and survey coordinator regarding annotation status.
• Perform data entry, QA/QC, and validation; support future AI/ML output post-processing.
• Participate in public outreach and education activities (school visits, science fairs, facility tours, outreach booths).

Required Qualifications

• BS Degree in Marine Science or related field (volunteer experience valued).
• Computer literacy with word processing, database, statistical, and graphics software; ability to write college-level reports.
• Proficiency in fish, invertebrate, and protected species identification; knowledge of reef taxa from the Gulf of America.
• Knowledge of endangered and threatened species.
• Must meet NOAA OMAO sea-duty medical fitness requirements (NOAA Forms 57-10-01 and NF 57-10-02); current tetanus vaccine required.