MISSION TO METRICS

In our mission to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, we rely on a thorough understanding of the ocean plastic pollution problem. The research team at The Ocean Cleanup aims to refine our understanding of the sources, transport, and fate of ocean and ocean-bound plastics. An important aspect of our research is to develop an impartial understanding of our impact on the nearby environments in which we operate. For this, we contribute to a multi-team project dedicated to measuring various aspects of the complex and wide-spanning problem of plastic pollution around our river Interceptor deployments. We quantify and analyze plastic collected in rivers and accumulating on shorelines near deployments to gather an overview of the local waste problem as well as our impact.

You will work in an interdisciplinary team, supporting the preparation and coordination of field missions to collect river waste data from our operational sites. Following data collection, you will be responsible for the analysis of our shoreline and riverine samples, playing a crucial role in building our understanding of the impact of our deployments on the nearby environment. Ultimately, the results will be applied to increase our understanding of river’s contributions to ocean pollution, guiding The Ocean Cleanup to improve our impact.

"At The Ocean Cleanup, our scientists work at the forefront of research on plastic pollution in rivers and oceans. The insights you generate will play a key role in improving our cleanup strategies. Join our diverse and international science team to contribute to tackling one of today’s most urgent environmental challenges.", Dr Thomas Mani, Lead River Field Scientist.

RESPONSIBILITIES

You are responsible for the analysis of our river and shoreline waste data worldwide. You will coordinate with suppliers and prepare field missions with local collaborators. Furthermore, you will keep an overview of processes and the incoming data, ensuring quality control, and store and maintain it in a systematic and standardized way.

Other responsibilities include:

• Connecting and exchanging with the research team on decisions and strategies to optimize our data collection

• Connecting with other teams at The Ocean Cleanup for alignment of your scopes and finding synergies

• Conducting data analysis, interpretation, presentation and documenting your work in a report

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree, pursuing post-graduate science education

• Successful completion of aquatic/hydrology science courses

• Experience with fieldwork and planning as well as environmental data

• Experience with data management and analysis

• Experience with plastic pollution research is a plus

• Experience in science communication to present our findings

• Skills in interdisciplinary and international communication for planning and correspondence with our research collaborators worldwide

• Fluent in spoken and written English

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Be able to quickly get to the essence of a technical challenge, and investigate the most relevant/important aspects to get to a solution direction

• Able to perform well in a fast-paced and challenging environment

• Ability to work independently

• Strong organizational skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Intrinsic motivation to work towards our ambitious and meaningful goal

Note that the candidate needs to be enrolled at a University (MSc program) during the duration of the internship. If applicable, the internship can be combined with an MSc thesis project.

• Start date: ASAP - Please indicate your possible start date, duration, and hours per week.
• Duration: 6 months
• Candidates are expected to work from our HQ in Rotterdam at least 3 days a week.
• Candidates are required to be enrolled at a University (Bachelor’s/Master's etc program) throughout the duration of the internship.