Research Assistant

Salary: $50,000–$60,000 per year

Position Summary:
The Bronx Zoo – Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) seeks a Research Assistant (RA) for its Ocean Giants Program, contributing to conservation and research efforts addressing marine mammal threats in the New York Bight.

The RA will focus on acoustic data analysis, including validation and classification of cetacean vocalizations. Additional responsibilities include marine mammal fieldwork, policy advocacy, and education outreach. This role provides hands-on experience with ocean noise, eDNA, and data integration supporting conservation management.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support acoustic projects, including large acoustic dataset processing.
• Train interns in cetacean vocalization identification.
• Conduct fieldwork in the New York Bight, collecting marine mammal sightings, photo ID, genetic, and tag data.
• Deploy/recover acoustic monitoring units and gather data on vessel surveys.
• Assist with marine mammal science and conservation analyses.
• Manage and maintain data quality standards for field-collected and acoustic datasets.
• Contribute to report writing for major donors and peer-reviewed publications.
• Advance policy, education, and advocacy initiatives aligned with WCS’s mission.
• Develop programmatic content for WCS’s whalesofnewyork.wcs.org and related social media platforms.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in Marine Bioacoustics, Biological Sciences, or Engineering.
• Experience analyzing large acoustic datasets.
• Familiarity with cetacean vocalizations and bioacoustics analysis software (e.g., Raven, Pamguard, Ishmael).
• Programming skills for data analysis (e.g., R or MATLAB).
• Ability to write scientific papers and collaborate in a field research environment.

Preferred:

• Classification of cetacean vocalizations into species/taxon groups.
• Characterization of ambient noise using established metrics.
• Previous experience in marine mammal conservation research.

Additional Requirements:

• Occasional travel to conferences and meetings.
• Flexibility to work across multiple time zones.
• Participation in New York Seascape, Aquarium, and Species & Policy programs.

Application Instructions

Submit your application via https://whalesofnewyork.wcs.org.

Closing Date: April 27, 2025

For inquiries, contact Charlotte Gjerlov at Charlotte.Gjerlov@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk