Join The Marine Mammal Center's Team
The Marine Mammal Center is an equal opportunity, nonprofit employer committed to social and environmental equity.
Careers
Field Operations & Response
Response Apprentice, San Luis Obispo Operations
The Response Apprentice will contribute meaningful support to the response & animal care of marine mammals at our San Luis Obispo Operations and the sea otter conservation program at The Marine Mammal Center. The 6-month apprenticeship provides a high-level view of community powered conservation while supporting the advancement of an inclusive environment within one of the world’s largest marine mammal stranding response programs.
Morro Bay, California • Full-time • 6-months • Posted February 27, 2026
People & Culture
Associate Director, Recruitment & Onboarding
The Associate Director, Recruitment & Onboarding serves as the senior operational lead and is the architect for staff recruitment, hiring, and onboarding and volunteer recruitment, onboarding, and placement at The Marine Mammal Center. This role provides strategic input, architectural design, and operational leadership to ensure recruitment and onboarding practices are consistent, equitable, compliant, and aligned with the Center’s mission and strategic priorities. The Associate Director, Recruitment & Onboarding translates organizational direction, workforce and volunteer priorities, and operational needs into scalable recruitment and onboarding frameworks, tools, and practices. This role oversees and develops a multidisciplinary recruitment team, manages recruitment systems, and stewards the organization’s staff position description and volunteer role description libraries. This role is accountable for day-to-day staff hiring outcomes and volunteer placements. This position actively supports the Center’s mission by ensuring the organization attracts, selects, and onboards a diverse, skilled, and mission-aligned staff workforce and volunteer community.
Sausalito, California • Full-time • Posted February 27, 2026
Vet Sci - Ke Kai Ola
Temporary Marine Science Educator, Ke Kai Ola
The Marine Science Educator, KKO is a temporary 12-week position responsible for coordinating and delivering engaging marine science education programs for audiences ranging from 4th grade students to adults, using best-practice instructional approaches while providing excellent customer service and ensuring a consistently safe, welcoming, and positive learning environment. In collaboration with teams across The Marine Mammal Center and with external stakeholders as needed, this role supports successful program delivery by coordinating program logistics such as scheduling support, preparing supplies and learning spaces, gathering required participant paperwork, facilitating check-in/check-out procedures, and tracking and recording program data; responding to participant inquiries during programs; following all safety and emergency protocols; communicating incidents or concerns promptly to management; coordinating volunteer communications and support as needed; and providing additional support to Ke Kai Ola operations as assigned.
Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i • Temporary • Part-time • Posted February 27, 2026
Train and Learn Alongside Our Experts
The Marine Mammal Center is the largest marine mammal teaching hospital and a critical training ground for health and welfare professionals from around the world, combining high-quality animal care with a hands-on learning environment.
Internships & Externships
Pathology & Diagnostics
Veterinary Anatomic Pathology Resident Rotation in Marine Mammal Medicine and Pathology
The Veterinary Anatomic Pathology Resident Rotation is an opportunity for anatomic and clinical pathology residents in established programs (traditional and non-traditional tracks) or those that have recently completed a program, to gain experience in marine mammal anatomy and pathology. Rotating residents will provide postmortem data on our patients and select carcasses, which consists of phocids, otariids, and the occasional cetacean and sea otter. During their time at The Marine Mammal Center, they will become familiar with marine mammal gross necropsy and histopathology including classic diseases.
Sausalito, California • 2-4 week rotation between 1/1/25 and 12/31/25
We are all one community, compassionate and respectful of each other as we work together to accomplish our mission.
- We engage in honest, thoughtful communication and remain open to feedback and new ideas.
- We embrace diversity and bring a positive approach to our work as a team.
- We take pride in what we achieve together and continually strive to learn and improve.
- We build trust by honoring commitments, taking responsibility for our actions and assuming good intentions in others.
Become a Volunteer
Volunteers are the heart and soul of The Marine Mammal Center. You can help rescue and rehabilitate marine mammals, educate the public, and so much more.
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