Data Steward

Organizational Unit

University of Victoria -> VP Research -> Ocean Networks Canada

Posting Close Date

19 February 2023

Please note that positions will close at 4 p.m. on the closing date.

FTE

1

Salary Grade

$72,191.00 - $93,896.00

Additional Posting Information

N/A

Salary posted will be pro-rated based on FTE

Classification

SG12

Start Date

3/13/2023

End Date

3/28/2025

Employee Group:

PEA - Term

# of Hires Needed

1

Category

Information Technology

About this Opportunity

In this particular position we are looking for someone familiar with geophysical and acoustic data, such as data from seismometers, hydrophones, and magnetometers. Project involvements would support seismic research, early earthquake warning applications, underwater soundscapes, and more.

The salary range for this position is:

Recruitment range: $72,191- $79,595starting salary determined by the PEA Collective Agreement.

Performance range: starting salary to max of $93,896 is available through annual performance increases.

UVic compensation is competitive with:

• Annual salary increases – 3% progression increases up to the salary job rate, and 2% performance increases from the job rate to the ceiling, of the salary range
• 7 hour work days and 35 hour work weeks
• Generous vacation time off - 22 days to start, increasing to 25 days
• Leaves – maternity, parental, adoption, personnel, sick and long term disability
• Flexibility in arranging work schedules
• Access to personal and central professional development funds
• Diverse range of learning and development opportunities
• Sustainability initiatives including discounted transit passes and a pedestrian and bike friendly campus

UVic contributes to your and your family’s health and well-being through its

• Comprehensive medical, dental and pension benefits
• Employee and family assistance program
• Discounted athletic facility membership
• Access to health and wellness tools and resources to support you in finding work-life balance

• Some eligibility criteria apply for term positions

Job Summary

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is a world-leading organization supporting ocean discovery and technological innovation for science, society, and industry. ONC monitors the west and east coasts of Canada and the Arctic to continuously deliver data in real-time for scientific research and discovery and technological innovation.

ONC operates and manages innovative cabled observatories that supply continuous power and Internet connectivity to various scientific instruments located in coastal, deep-ocean, and Arctic environments. ONC’s cable arrays host thousands of sensors distributed in, on and above the seabed along with mobile and land based assets strategically located, instruments that address key scientific and policy issues (subsea earthquakes and tsunamis, ocean acidification, marine biodiversity, etc.) within a wide range of environments.

ONC is a Major Science Initiative funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and is governed as a not-for-profit society that operates world-class innovative cabled observatories on behalf of the University of Victoria.

ONC’s Observatory Operations’ division is mandated to ensure the acquisition, curation and delivery of high-quality data to a global research community. As a department within Observatory Operations, Data Stewardship supports this mandate through the critical activities of metadata and data curation, and the provision of geospatial services and operations support. Curation activities enhance metadata and data discovery, retrieval, provenance, quality, archival, and interoperability. Geospatial services focus on maps, geodatabases, notices to mariners/shipping, and bathymetric/navigational data management. Operations support ensures that the extensive and complex workflows that guide the preparation and deployment of underwater instruments are conducted in a manner that maximizes the probability success and the delivery of quality data to the global research community.

The Data Steward is primarily responsible for acquiring, verifying and maintaining metadata and data for ONC. Properly curated data is critical for scientific and non-scientific users to understand, interpret and analyze the information collected via the instruments on the network operated by ONC. ONC’s primary mission to maintain long time series data sets cannot be achieved without robust and accurate metadata. Secondary duties include field and at-sea support during infrastructure maintenance operations that occur multiple times a year for up to four weeks duration, or day and multi day trips.

This position is required to work designated shifts through extended hours, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when supporting expedition operations.

Job Requirements

The successful candidate will have at a minimum a master’s degree in Information Science, Computer Science or related field, and 3 years of experience working in a related discipline.

An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

Experience requirements:

• Demonstrated experience with metadata schemas, controlled vocabularies, linked data
• Experience with web-services for scientific data discovery and delivery
• Experience with digital content management tools
• Experience with metadata and data manipulation

Knowledge requirements:

• Expertise with geospatial and oceanographic community conventions and standards
• Familiarity with XML, RDF, NetCDF tools and formats
• Ability to program in Python, Matlab, R, or other scripting languages
• Fluent in the use of SQL-based database access tools
• Basic knowledge of scientific instrumentation and measurements
• Familiarity with international meta data standards and practices and their creation

Competencies requirements:

• Strong problem-solving skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to deal with multiple parallel projects involving several stakeholder groups, and consistently meet deadlines
• Ability to effectively prioritize tasks and to effectively manage assigned work during periods of peak demand
• Strong oral communication and writing skills
• Ability to work in a team-oriented, multidisciplinary environment.

Assets:

• Demonstrated interest in ocean sciences and/or Earth sciences
• Familiarity with problem and project tracking software such as Jira, Bugzilla or equivalent
• Experience with oceanographic expeditions