Senior Fisheries Data Scientist – Salmon Survival, Migration, and Mark-Recapture Modeling at Lynker Corporation
Seattle, WA
$90,000–$125,000
Jul 2, 2026
Seattle, WA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A contract-contingent role supporting NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, focused on statistical and quantitative analysis of Pacific salmon survival, migration, and behavior — particularly through hydropower systems. The work involves building probabilistic and simulation models, curating mark-recapture datasets, publishing findings, and occasionally assisting with field data collection. Best suited to a PhD-level quantitative ecologist with deep experience in R, Bayesian methods, and large environmental datasets.
Senior level · 10+ years · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Doctorate required · Contract
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 2 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 190 people in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (data scientists). range 55–280
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $168,363 (middle half $111,131–$214,996).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (10)
This is a contract role contingent on award of a NOAA ProTech Fisheries 2.0 prime contract under the FLOAT joint venture — the position may not materialize if the contract is not awarded.
The degree requirement is a PhD (or related field), but the JD explicitly allows substitution: an MS substitutes for 2 years of experience and a PhD for 4 years of the 10-year minimum. Because a PhD is the stated baseline and the substitution language runs in the other direction (degree replaces experience, not experience replacing degree), the degree requirement is set to Doctorate.
Stan and JAGS are listed as a paired requirement ('Experience with programs Stan and JAGS') but serve the same probabilistic-programming function; they are emitted as one skill with JAGS as the alternative.
C/C++ familiarity is explicitly framed as 'Familiarity interpreting or interfacing with C or C++ code within a scientific modeling context' — softer than the required R/Stan/JAGS language, so treated as preferred.
Bayesian statistics and mark-recapture methods appear under 'The Ideal Fisheries Data Scientist will have' — a clearly aspirational/preferred section.
The role is primarily on-site at NWFSC Seattle or associated WA/OR field stations; part-time telework is authorized but the role is not fully remote.
A background investigation for public trust classification is required, but this is not a formal US security clearance gate.
Google Suite and Microsoft Office are listed together as 'common software' under required qualifications; they are emitted as one skill with Microsoft Office as the alternative since either satisfies the same general-productivity requirement.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): mark-recapture modeling.
Posting is for a contract engagement — the market benchmarks below price full-time roles, so read the comp comparison with that in mind.
Read the full posting
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