Research Associate II (step 1)

Purpose of the Position :

The Research Associate II provides land surface remote sensing, synthetic aperture radar and GIS expertise focused on research & development activities supporting the identification of impacts from natural disasters, including earthquakes, landslides, and land surface change, wildfires, severe weather, floods, and other hazards, in support of NASA activities, including the NASA Earth Science Applied Sciences Disasters Program.

The ideal candidate for this position should have experience with applications of synthetic aperture radar and should have hands-on experience through education or past work in land surface remote sensing.

The candidate should have familiarity with meteorological concepts and common types of Earth science hazards / disaster scenarios.

The candidate will be expected to support a team focused on disaster risk, resilience, response, and recovery activities that include novel and innovative research that culminates in peer-reviewed publications and near real-time application outcomes.

Duties / Responsibilities

• Support for funded R&D :
• a. Satellite data processing : acquire data sets from various sources (optical and radar) and process them into various formats supporting research & analysis tasks, use previously written computer code and code they may author in collaboration with others to complete data processing tasks;
• b. Synthesis of result : use scientific understanding of remote sensing & synthetic aperture radar to understand signatures of land surface and other change resulting from an immediate disaster, and / or use understanding of longer-term remote sensing & modeling outcomes to characterize disaster risk & opportunities for mitigation, or identification of recovery;

c. Team & end-user engagement : Work with other team scientists to receive direction on tasks related to data processing, analysis, and mapping supporting a variety of research tasks that contribute to peer review publications, research proposals, technical training, and other outcomes.

Work with end users and partners on funded research activities to ensure the usability and usefulness of products being delivered.

Papers, training materials, and proposals :

a. Contribute technical knowledge and scientific analysis by authoring contributions to peer-reviewed paper submissions, completed research proposals, and scientific presentations including conference presentations, technical reports, and other duties as assigned.

b. Receive guidance from team scientists on technical direction, editing, and other feedback to improve the quality of final products.

Contribute to team disaster response activities :

a. Satellite data processing and analysis during event activations.

b. Other support of team disaster response activities, as directed.

Minimum Requirements :

• Bachelor's degree in Earth System Science, Meteorology, or a related field.
• 12-15 months of full-time verifiable work experience.
• Hands-on experience with satellite data analysis, including with synthetic aperture radar, acquired through academic coursework or regular use.
• Working knowledge of programming or scripting languages such as Python.
• Experience with NASA and other remote sensing datasets (both optical and radar).
• The ability to communicate effectively in speaking and in writing.

Desired Qualifications :

• Master's degree in Earth System Science, Meteorology, or a related field is strongly preferred.
• More than 1 year of hands-on experience with satellite data analysis, including synthetic aperture radar.
• Experience in technical writing for papers and proposals.
• Experience in large data processing of remote sensing data
• Experience in technical / scientific presentations
• Experience with GIS software
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance, if required.

Published Salary (if available) :

$45,000 - $48,749