Database Management Specialist – Klamath Basin Scientific Data Architect/Engineer

The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) is seeking a Database Management Specialist – Klamath Basin Scientific Data Architect/Engineer (Specialist) to support scientific research and management activities at the USGS Klamath Falls office in Klamath Falls, Oregon.  

 

This full‑time position is responsible for designing, administering, and modernizing large‑scale scientific database systems, ensuring their performance, assuring continuous system availability, and working with IT in administering permissions and security. The Specialist develops data models and automated pipelines, manages legacy data migration, supports GIS and electronic field data collection, and collaborates closely with scientists, contractors, and IT staff. The role also involves querying and analyzing data to address management‑relevant questions, supporting data stewardship alignment with the USGS Science Data Lifecycle, and developing tools and workflows using SQL, Python, R, Power Automate, and related technologies. 

 

Project Description 

The USGS Klamath Falls Field Station (KFFS) conducts research on rare and imperiled fishes in the Klamath Basin, helping managers make informed decisions about resource use in a sensitive arid ecosystem. Our program has tracked long‑lived endangered Lost River and Shortnose suckers for decades using PIT tags as part of a long‑term capture‑recapture effort, and we are growing an acoustic telemetry program to understand seasonal movement, survival, and habitat use. These data directly inform sucker recovery actions and water‑management decisions in the Basin, connecting adult survival, recruitment, and lake conditions to management options. 

 

Main Duties 

• Design, develop, administer, and optimize SQL Server and SQLite databases, including implementation of backup and recovery procedures, storage allocation, and performance monitoring. 
• Develop and maintain data dictionaries, conceptual and physical data models, metadata repositories, documentation to support integration of diverse scientific data sources, and produce schemas for integrating diverse source data. 
• Assess existing legacy database structures to identify redundant or inefficient table layouts, and lead efforts to modernize schemas and migrate historical data into improved, standardized formats. 
• Develop complex queries, reports, and analytics in response to scientific project leaders and management needs; translate legacy R and Python query scripts into automated, production‑level data pipelines using SQL, Power Automate, and artificial intelligence where appropriate. Lead the transition from internal query programs to Power BI dashboards (or similar tools).  
• Serve as the office lead and primary point of contact for data stewardship, ensuring alignment with USGS policies and the USGS Science Data Lifecycle practices that consists of data acquisition, processing, analysis, preservation, publication, and archiving. 
• Troubleshoot, diagnose, and resolve database performance, integrity, and availability issues. 
• Provide technical oversight for contractors engaged in database modernization efforts, including re‑architecting schemas around mission workflows, rebuilding data pipelines, and coordinating with USGS IT to manage permissions, security, and migration to cloud‑hosted platforms (e.g., Microsoft Azure).