Senior Researcher

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority R&D Centre; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 60,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading utility research organization in the UAE is seeking a Remote Sensing Senior Researcher with extensive experience in satellite imagery and geospatial technologies. The role involves developing solutions for environmental monitoring and operational challenges in utilities and energy. Ideal candidates should have a relevant Master's or PhD and strong programming skills, particularly in Python. This position offers opportunities to work on cutting-edge satellite applications and the chance to lead innovative projects in the field.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience in satellite remote sensing applied to energy or environmental monitoring.
• Strong publication or portfolio record.
• Experience with major satellite constellations.

Responsibilities

• Design satellite-based monitoring workflows.
• Develop automated change-detection systems.
• Integrate satellite weather data into predictive models.

Skills

Optical remote sensing principles

Multispectral remote sensing techniques

SAR detection techniques

Change detection expertise

Python programming

Experience with AWS

GIS expertise

Education

Master’s or PhD in Remote Sensing

Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of experience

Tools

Python libraries (GDAL, rasterio, geopandas)

Machine learning frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch)

SAP software

ArcGIS Pro/QGIS

Job description

Remote Sensing Senior Researcher

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) R&D Center is seeking an experienced Remote Sensing Specialist ( contractual role) with proven expertise in applying satellite imagery and geospatial technologies to solve complex operational and environmental challenges in the utilities, energy, and infrastructure sectors.

The successful candidate will contribute to the design, development, and operational deployment of satellite-based monitoring solutions, including: seawater quality monitoring, oil spill and red tide detection, construction and encroachment monitoring, vegetation management, methane leak detection, extreme event damage assessment, and weather modeling and forecasting.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement satellite-based monitoring workflows for early detection and characterization of environmental parameters
• Develop automated change-detection systems for monitoring pipeline corridors, power line rights-of-way, substation construction, and unauthorized encroachment
• Create and maintain near-real-time alerting systems using optical, SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar), and multispectral/hyperspectral data
• Integrate satellite-derived weather and atmospheric data into predictive models for weather forecasting and extreme weather impacts on utility assets
• Optional: Perform methane and other greenhouse gas plume detection and quantification using hyperspectral and thermal satellite sensors
• Collaborate with data scientists and software engineers to operationalize algorithms and integrate them into cloud-based platforms
• Produce high-quality technical reports, maps, and presentations for internal teams and external clients/stakeholders
• Stay current with new satellite missions, sensors, and processing techniques relevant to the utilities sectorProvide technical guidance and training to junior team members and clients

Essential Technical Knowledge

• In-depth understanding of optical, multispectral, hyperspectral, SAR (C-band, X-band, L-band), and thermal remote sensing principles
• Expertise in detection techniques using SAR and optical imagery (polSAR, coherence analysis, texture classification, oil-water contrast enhancement)
• Knowledge of radar interferometry (InSAR) and change detection for construction and subsidence monitoring
• Familiarity with atmospheric correction, cloud masking, and BRDF correction for consistent time-series analysis
• (Optional) Understanding of methane and GHG detection using sensors such as PRIMA, WorldView-3, GHGSat, Sentinel-5P, MethaneSAT, etc.
• Knowledge of weather and climate data integration (e.g., numerical weather models WRF, ECMWF, GFS, satellite-derived precipitation, wind fields, and lightning data)
• Solid grasp of utility-specific challenges: right-of-way vegetation encroachment, line loading from wind, flood risk mapping, etc.
• Advanced proficiency in remote sensing software
• Strong programming skills in Python (mandatory); experience with geospatial libraries (GDAL, rasterio, geopandas, xarray, etc.)
• Experience building automated processing pipelines in cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Proficiency with machine learning / deep learning frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn) applied to satellite imagery
• SAR processing expertise
• Time-series analysis and anomaly detection on large satellite archives
• GIS expertise (ArcGIS Pro/QGIS) and web mapping (Leaflet, Kepler.gl, etc.)

Professional Experience

• Minimum 5-7 years of hands-on experience in satellite remote sensing applied to energy, utilities, or environmental monitoring
• Proven track record
• Experience working with major satellite constellations: Sentinel-1/2/3/5P, Landsat, PlanetScope, WorldView, TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X, COSMO-SkyMed, ICEYE, Capella Space, etc.

Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in Remote Sensing, Geoinformatics, Geographic Information Science, Earth Observation, Physics, or a closely related field
• Bachelor’s degree accepted if compensated by 8+ years of highly relevant experience and strong publication/portfolio record
• Published research or operational case studies record