Marine Chief Engineer

Position Details

Dept Number/Name: 471000 - Florida Institute of Oceanography

Location: USF St. Petersburg

Salary Plan: Administration

Job Code/Title: 6556 / Marine Chief Engineer

Hiring Salary/Salary Range: $75,000 – 85,000 (commensurate based on experience) plus sea pay

Position Number: 100005084                                                                             

Organizational Summary: 

The Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) is an institute of the University of South Florida that connects Florida’s academic, public, and private partners to the marine environment through oceanographic research, education, workforce development, and applied maritime operations. As a regional marine science and technology resource, FIO provides access to research vessels, specialized marine equipment, field operations expertise, and the Keys Marine Laboratory to support discovery, student learning, environmental stewardship, and solutions to complex coastal and ocean challenges.

Through its vessels, facilities, and experienced maritime professionals, FIO enables researchers, students, agencies, and industry partners to conduct work on, in, and around the water safely and effectively. FIO supports oceanographic research while also serving as a broader platform for interdisciplinary education, experiential learning, marine technology testing, public-private collaboration, and workforce development. As part of USF, FIO strengthens the university’s role as a leader in ocean science, coastal resilience, and marine innovation while serving the needs of Florida and the broader ocean community.

Position Description: 

The Marine Chief Engineer’s primary function is to ensure the safe, reliable, compliant, and mission-ready operation of all engineering systems aboard FIO research vessel(s), both in port and at sea.

This position serves as the senior engineering representative aboard the vessel and is responsible for routine, preventive, and corrective maintenance of vessel propulsion, electrical, hydraulic, HVAC, plumbing, firefighting, fuel, pneumatic, damage control, potable water, sewage, and auxiliary systems.

In addition to technical repair and maintenance duties, the Marine Chief Engineer is responsible for significant administrative and management functions, including preventive maintenance tracking, engineering logs, equipment records, repair planning, spare parts and inventory control, shipyard work list development, regulatory inspection support, safety compliance, vendor coordination, and training or mentoring assigned engineering personnel.

The position works closely with the Vessel Captain, Marine Operations Manager, Fleet Readiness Manager, Assistant Engineer, deck department, science users, contractors, and shoreside support personnel to ensure FIO vessels are prepared to safely and effectively support research, education, outreach, and marine operations. This position will report directly to the Marine Captain I of their respective vessel on the USF St. Petersburg campus.