Marine Mammals Graduate Internship
Contract Type: Internship 8 weeks
Working Pattern: Full Time - 37 hours per week – Monday to Friday
Salary : Non Graded £13.45 per hour
Closing date: 30 November 2026
Internship Outline
This 8-week funded internship is to support Graduate (BSc) students with an interest in bioacoustics. You will be involved in the analysis of passive acoustic data for the presence of cetaceans (e.g. minke and humpback whales, or dolphins). You will learn how to recognise species in long-term datasets and annotate data for the development and testing of machine learning classification models. This will enable you to develop skills in bioacoustics research and provide you with experience with relevant acoustic software, including Raven, R, PAMGuard and Python. This project is based entirely on existing acoustic data - no lab or fieldwork will be required.
The successful candidate would also have the opportunity to attend SAMS Marine Mammal Research Team meetings to develop an understanding of how acoustics is used in wider fields both relating to research and industry applications.
This is a great opportunity for someone, post study (BSc), to apply their skills learnt in a work environment and start their career with us. SAMS provides a great learning environment for early career researchers, supported by experts in this field. Training will be provided, where required, as well as other career support where time allows.
This opportunity has been created through SAMS’ sponsorship relationship with Nadara. Nadara — Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban UK
Internship Funding is available for 8 weeks only.
Our Ideal Candidate
Our ideal candidate will have a keen interest in bioacoustics and some prior experience analysing acoustic data. However, we will provide training and all candidates that are keen to learn and interested in underwater sounds and marine mammals are encouraged to apply.
Interested?
We would love to hear from you. If you have queries on this opportunity and would like to talk these through before applying, please email these through, in the first instance, to denise.risch@sams.ac.uk
Applications must include CV and Cover Letter and should be sent electronically to recruitment@sams.ac.uk quoting Job Ref. ‘D23/26.DR’ in the subject heading.
Closing date for application is 30 November 2026. Interviews will be held online on 11th December 2026.
Please find further information below on how we can help you apply:
We are a Disability Confident Employer. Where a candidate requires reasonable adjustments as part of the application process, we encourage you to let us know. Where applicants with a disability meet the essential criteria for the job, you will be given the opportunity to demonstrate your skills, talent and abilities at interview.
SAMS’ commitment to gender equality has been recognised, as our institute was presented with an Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network) Bronze Award and is currently working towards Investors in Diversity accreditation.
SAMS follows Fair Work Practices.
SAMS Group is committed to being an equal and open organisation. Diversity and inclusion are important to us, and we strive to remove any barriers that may prevent people from applying to join us. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, and from all who share our values and can help us to broaden our knowledge and range of ideas.
