Kelp Culture Technician

Staff - Union

Job Category

CUPE 116

Job Profile

CUPE 116 Salaried - Research Assistant /Technician 2

Job Title

Kelp Culture Technician

Department

Research | Martone Lab | Department of Botany | Faculty of Science

Compensation Range

$4, $4,845.00 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date

December 9, 2025

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

December 31, 2026

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

This is a research technician (Tech 2) position in the UBC Department of Botany. This position will be responsible for maintaining and optimizing macroalgal cultures to support restoration and enhancement of bull kelp populations near Vancouver, BC. Activities will include managing and maintaining existing bull kelp cultures, conducting experiments on lab cultures, and seeding tiles with bull kelp gametophytes for outplanting.

Organizational Status

The technician will report to the PI, Dr. Patrick Martone (Professor, UBC Botany).

Work Performed

Lab duties:

• Spore release and culture initiation
• Prepare and replace media in all cultures
• Re-fragmenting cultures to expand collection
• Observe, inventory, and report on the health of kelp culture library
• Microscopic culture inspection
• Contaminant identification and management
• Unialgal clone isolation
• Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot kelp culture equipment, including incubators, flumes, tumble tanks, and chillers

Lab experimental support:

• Conduct experiments on the response of kelp cultures to stress (temperature, siltation, salinity)
• Conduct experiments on culture density to improve outplanting success
• Conduct experiments on tile texture and shape to increase the survivorship and longevity of outplanted kelp in the field
• Summarize data to be reviewed by PI and kelp researchers
• Help support other researchers in ongoing culture experimentation
• Scrub tanks
• Macroscopic sporophyte culture inspection and maintenance
• Refine culture methods to increase capacity and efficiency
• Contaminant identification and management
• undefined

Restoration:

Help organize environmental data collected at site by field technicians (salinity, light, substrate, temperature, flow)

Organize and seed tiles with gametophyte fragments for outplanting

Support the preparation and transport of tiles for field work

Coordinate with field technician to synchronize lab and field experimentation

Consequence of Error/Judgement

All work being done will be under close supervision by the PI, Dr. Patrick Martone, and all decisions about experimental procedures will be made in cohort with the PI, Dr. Patrick Martone.

Supervision Received

The technician will work independently and as part of a team, including external collaborators. Work will be overseen by the Principal Investigator with direct support provided by other lab researchers.

Supervision Given

None.

Minimum Qualifications

High school graduation, some additional training in a related field and a minimum two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one's own

• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one's own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in macroalgal cultivation or sterile culture techniques
• Experience developing and maintaining biological experiments