Research Staff Assistant

Columbia University
United States, New York, New York
Jul 23, 2025
Job Type: Support Staff - Non-Union Bargaining Unit: Regular/Temporary: Regular End Date if Temporary: Hours Per Week: 35 Standard Work Schedule: Building: Salary Range: 50,000-56,000 The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. Position Summary The RSA will work within the Marine and Polar Geophysics Division in the area of marine geoscience data stewardship. The focus is curation of oceanographic data acquired with the US Academic Research Fleet supporting marine science in the U.S. to support long-term preservation and open public access to these data. Responsibilities will include setting weekly and monthly curation goals and ensuring the timely processing of marine data and metadata, quality assessment and data processing using established workflows, and documentation and registration of these data. Familiarity with UNIX/Linux and with programming or scripting required. Responsibilities Execute, maintain, and refine scripted protocols and workflows to validate and curate marine geoscience data and metadata for the Rolling Deck to Repository Program. Contribute to metadata development and data quality assessment. Processing and quality assessment of marine geophysical data for the Rolling Deck to Repository Program. Responsible for quality assessment processing for selected expeditions each year. Serve as primary contact with ship operators, monitoring and reviewing their data submissions and working with them to ensure adequate data documentation and correct and complete data packages. Contribute to reporting on R2R at annual community workshops involving ship operators and other marine data providers. Minimum Qualifications B.A or B.S. degree in earth or environmental science (e.g. geology/geophysics, oceanography, GIS). At least 1 year of relevant experience preferred. Familiarity with UNIX/Linux and experience with programming or scripting (e.g., PHP, Java, Python, Matlab, R) required. Experience working with databases (e.g., SQL) also a strong asset. Must have excellent problem solving, organization, communication and interpersonal skills. Must be able to work independently and have excellent task management skills. Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.