University of South Florida · 4 days ago
Associate Director of the Ocean and Environmental Data Visualization Center
St. Petersburg, FL
Full-time
Onsite
Lead/Staff, Director/Executive
5+ years expThe University of South Florida is seeking a visionary leader for the Associate Director position at the Ocean and Environmental Data Visualization Center. This role involves developing advanced data systems to create visual narratives that inform policy and management decisions, while also leading a multidisciplinary team in geospatial research and visualization.
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Responsibilities
Design, deploy, and maintain innovative workflows that support acquisition, processing, visualization, and sharing of diverse datasets to make science accessible and actionable
Build the center's reputation as a trusted source for science-based information and guidance. Foster partnerships through topical working groups, training, and open science initiatives that engage researchers, students, managers, policymakers, and Florida's communities
Advance geospatial research and visualization as a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator. Employ and understand spatial problem solving, break problems into component parts, seek multiple solutions, and look for opportunities to improve delivery of valued solutions to key issues
Develop and deliver presentations that explain visualizations and analytical insights to external groups, including technical and non-technical stakeholders
Communicate with visualization center clients to propose solutions that illustrate how geospatial data products can address the critical challenges they face. Identify and integrate new and emerging concepts/trends appropriately from external sources
Develop, document, and execute governance structures and technical solutions for data interoperability, metadata standards, and cloud-based services that align with FAIR principles
Establish and monitor annual budgets, licensing agreements, grants, contracts, and performance and recruitment of staff. Conceptualize, grow, and supervise team that deliver synthesis, visualizations, and outreach
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum of five years related experience
Minimum two years of experience supervising research teams or programs. Proven ability to mentor scientists and technical professionals
Professional recognition in geospatial science, ecosystem-based management, or related fields via membership on regional advisory boards, teams, and working groups
Demonstrated success in building collaborative, multidisciplinary initiatives across disciplines and sectors
Demonstrated ability to provide innovative, visionary leadership that advances the center at the intersection of science, problem solving, and education and outreach
Experience managing complex agreements, budgets comprising millions of dollars, and multiple streams of funding
Experience presenting to scientific, management, and policy communities. Remarkable presentation, interpersonal, and listening skills
Strong understanding of the principles of geospatial visualization, cartography, ESRI products, development of tools to support decisions, standards for data, cloud computing, 3D visualization, and web-based data
Based in St. Petersburg, FL with ability to travel domestically or internationally and ability to pass a level 2 background check
Preferred
Ph.D. in marine science, oceanography, ecology, geography, atmospheric science, environmental science, or closely related fields
Proven record of translating research into products to inform management
Experience with large-scale spatial datasets
Experience with remote sensing (satellite, LiDAR, and acoustic mapping)
Familiarity with machine learning, especially in environmental science
Established relationships with Florida state agencies, NOAA, and other federal partners
Understanding of regional environmental priorities and management challenges
Familiarity with global change modeling, ecosystem modeling, connectivity analysis, hydrographic modeling, or modeling of species distributions
Familiarity with marine or environmental data standards (e.g., NetCDF, CF conventions, OPENDAP, ERDDAP, THREDDS)
Experience with cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or similar) and web services
Benefits
Medical, dental and life insurance plans
Retirement plan options
Employee and dependent tuition programs
Generous leave
Hundreds of employee perks and discounts
Company
University of South Florida
University of South Florida is a public research university located in Tampa, Florida.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of South Florida has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (149)
2024 (79)
2023 (95)
2022 (49)
2021 (68)
2020 (56)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$170.33MKey Investors
The Duke Energy FoundationNational Institute of Standards and TechnologyFederal Railroad Administration
2024-09-17Grant· $0.07M
2024-04-03Grant· $0.2M
2023-09-25Grant· $17.07M
Leadership Team
Sidney Fernandes
CIO and Vice President Digital Experiences
Shilen Patel
Trustee
Recent News
2026-01-22
2026-01-22
2025-12-14
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