The Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) is the largest marine research centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). It is also the first marine science centre to be accredited as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence, a recognition to the institution’s leadership in the field of marine research in Spain and to its commitment to create social impact.
Our goal is to develop research of excellence to inspire a society in harmony with the blue planet, in line with the values of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
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About the role and the team
We are recruiting two enthusiastic and highly motivated Research Assistants in seabed image analysis at ICM. The successful candidates will join the recently established Deep Ocean Ecology & Biogeography lab (DOEB), led by Dr E. Simon-Lledó, and contribute to a wider international research project investigating abyssal Pacific megafaunal communities. Using specimen occurrence data derived from seabed imagery, the project will characterise baseline ecological patterns in areas targeted for seabed mining, helping to inform the environmental management and conservation of abyssal seascape ecosystems in the Cook Islands.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a diverse, dynamic, and innovative team working in one of ICM’s core areas of scientific excellence. Over a period of 15 months, the selected candidates will play a key role in transforming deep-sea imagery into scientific data by identifying and annotating individual animals in seafloor images. The posts will also provide opportunities to contribute to data analysis and to the preparation of technical reports and scientific papers. As such, these positions would particularly suit ambitious and proactive early-career scientists seeking to develop their research profile, including those intending to pursue a PhD in the future.
Job description
The successful candidate will be involved in several tasks that include:
-Processing and detection of abyssal megafauna specimens in seabed imagery (video and images)
-Identification and sorting of detected specimens into species or morphospecies
-Generation of an image-based taxonomical catalogue for Cook Islands abyssal seafloor megafauna invertebrates
-Contribution to preliminary ecological analyses, and writing sections of technical reports and scientific paper
-Attendance to project consortia meetings & presentation of sections of the work conducted
Expected background and skills
-Higher degree (e.g. MSc) or equivalent experience in marine science is essential
-Effective oral and written communication skills in English is essential, fluent Spanish and Catalan are desirable
-Experience in benthic taxonomy is desirable, particularly in invertebrates
-Experience with identifying and annotating seabed fauna from photographs, ideally in deep-sea environments (e.g, using annotating software, such as BIIGLE), is desirable
-Experience in programming for data analysis (R, Matlab, Python) will be valued
-Track record in the delivery of data products, analyses, reports and ideally scientific papers will be valued
The offer
-Full-time contract with funded secured for 15 months (start: June 2026); renewable based on funding availability.
-Gross annual salary 31-33 K€, commensurate with qualifications and experience, consistent with CSIC M3 pay scales.
-Measures at work place to reconcile work and family life (flexible scheduling working hours, partial remote working).
-Highly stimulating environment with support services and professional guidance to enhance career development.
-Recruitment at ICM is open, transparent and merit-based, and all applicants compete on the same terms.
The CSIC and all its research centers were awarded with the "HR Excellence in Research" seal in 2021. This recognition reflects our commitment to continuously improve our human resources policies in line with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. Recruitment at ICM (CSIC) is open, transparent and merit-based, and all applicants compete on the same terms.
Application procedure
Please send a 1-page motivation letter and your CV no later than the 3th of May to:
Candidatures will be reviewed upon reception and shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview. The selected candidate will be managed through the Bolsa de Trabajo CSIC, which requires an equivalence request for degrees not obtained in the Spanish state.