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How much do marine acoustics jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 3, 2026, the average hourly pay for marine acoustics in the United States is $26.75, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $22.36 and $31.49 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is marine acoustics?

A Marine Acoustics job involves studying and applying sound in underwater environments for purposes such as sonar detection, marine mammal monitoring, and underwater communication. Professionals in this field work in industries like defense, environmental conservation, and offshore energy. They analyze sound propagation in water, design acoustic equipment, and assess the impact of human-made noise on marine life. Strong backgrounds in physics, engineering, and oceanography are often required for this role.

What does a typical workday look like for someone in marine acoustics?

A typical workday in Marine Acoustics often involves a mix of fieldwork—deploying and retrieving acoustic equipment at sea—and office-based tasks such as analyzing collected data, preparing technical reports, and developing acoustic models. You’ll collaborate closely with marine biologists, engineers, and regulatory agencies to interpret results and provide recommendations. Expect to participate in planning meetings, contribute to environmental impact assessments, and occasionally present findings to clients or stakeholders. This diverse workflow keeps the role engaging and offers opportunities to develop both technical and project management skills.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in marine acoustics?

To thrive in Marine Acoustics, you need a strong background in physics, oceanography, or engineering, often supported by an advanced degree and experience with underwater sound principles. Proficiency with acoustic modeling software, sonar systems, data analysis tools, and sometimes certifications like HAZWOPER or advanced diving credentials are valuable. Strong problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills help you interpret results and work effectively with multidisciplinary teams. These abilities are crucial for accurately evaluating underwater environments, supporting marine research, and ensuring regulatory compliance.

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marine acoustics jobs near you
Infographic showing various Marine Acoustics job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 97% Full Time, 2% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 98% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $55,632 per year, or $26.7 per hour.

Staff Scientist -- Marine Acoustics

Sofar Ocean

San Francisco, CA • On-site

$121 - $171/hr

Other

Re-posted 28 days ago

Job description

The Role:

Sofar designs, builds, and deploys ocean sensing networks at a global scale that provide unique observational knowledge of the ocean environment. We are expanding our sensing capabilities into underwater acoustics to detect, classify, and locate underwater objects, and to create an acoustic map of the marine environment. We are looking for an experienced scientist in ocean acoustics to help shape and advance Sofar’s underwater acoustics platform.

Responsibilities:
  • Help shape Sofar’s acoustics research and development strategy, contributing scientific and technical direction for an underwater acoustics platform that supports real‑world marine applications.
  • Develop capabilities to detect, classify, and localize underwater objects using passive and/or active acoustic sensing methods.
  • Advance methods for creating acoustic maps of the marine environment, including characterization of ambient soundscapes, propagation conditions, and relevant oceanographic context.
  • Provide an acoustics‑centric perspective on sensing system design, deployment strategy, data quality, and performance validation.
  • Collaborate with Sofar’s oceanic and sensing scientists, software engineers, and firmware teams to translate acoustic research into operational products.
  • Coordinate and conduct field experiments, data analyses, and simulation studies to evaluate acoustic system performance in real‑world ocean conditions.
  • Bring deep expertise in marine acoustics to complement Sofar’s ocean science, sensing, and forecasting teams.
  • Contribute to product requirements, technical roadmaps, and research priorities for new underwater acoustic capabilities.
  • Represent Sofar externally with customers, research partners, government agencies, and the broader ocean acoustics community.
Minimum Job Qualifications:
  • Deep expertise in underwater acoustics.
  • Experience developing acoustic sensing systems or algorithms for detection, classification, localization, mapping, or environmental characterization.
  • Strong understanding of marine acoustic propagation, ambient noise, signal processing, and the practical constraints of ocean sensing.
  • Experience working with real‑world acoustic datasets, field deployments, and/or operational sensing systems.
  • Experience applying statistical signal processing, machine learning, or modern AI methods to acoustic detection, classification, or environmental inference.
  • Excellent communication skills, and you excel working in a cross‑functional team.
  • Experience translating scientific research into operational products or customer‑facing capabilities.
  • Ph.D. in acoustics, ocean engineering, electrical engineering, applied physics, oceanography, or a related field, but we will consider highly qualified candidates of any education level with equivalent experience.
  • Strong reputation within the ocean acoustics community, with experience contributing to research programs, technical partnerships, or externally funded work.
  • Enthusiasm and experience in leveraging LLMs to magnify personal impact.
Bonus Points:
  • Familiarity with embedded sensing systems, firmware constraints, or edge processing for acoustic applications.
  • Familiarity with the constraints of autonomous ocean platforms, including limited power, bandwidth, onboard compute, sensor calibration, and long‑duration deployments.
  • Comfort working in production codebases when necessary to personally deliver changes.
Estimated Salary Range:
  • $121,000 - $171,000
  • The range listed is what we reasonably expect to pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and may be modified in the future. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, experience, and equity package.
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