Associate Scientist-Geospatial

ICRISAT; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,300,000; Full time

Job summary

ICRISAT seeks an Associate Scientist – Geospatial Sciences to advance remote sensing applications in agriculture from its Patancheru, Hyderabad HQ. The role supports the Digital Agriculture cluster under the Global Research Program Resilient Farming Systems.

It involves crop acreage estimation, crop type mapping, and yield forecasting across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The candidate will work with cloud-based platforms, GIS tools, and diverse datasets, contributing to scalable tools for

Qualifications

• PhD with focus on remote sensing of agriculture and 2+ years post-PhD experience.
• Expertise in crop acreage estimation, crop type mapping, and yield forecasting.
• Proficient with multi-temporal, multi-spectral data and GIS software.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implementcrop acreage estimation and crop type mapping methodologies.
• Forecast yields by integrating satellite data, field observations, and crop models.
• Analyze crop health, stress, and growth stages using satellite data.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams for regional/national analyses.
• Process large datasets from cloud platforms like Google Earth Engine.
• Support ground truthing campaigns and validate remote sensing analyses.
• Maintain geospatial databases of crop, soil, climate data.
• Publish findings and present at conferences.

Skills

Geospatial analysis

Remote sensing

Python

R

Machine learning

GIS software

Education

PhD in Geospatial Sciences

Tools

ENVI

ERDAS

SNAP

Google Earth Engine

ESRI ArcGIS

QGIS

AWS / Azure

Job description

Associate Scientist – Geospatial SciencesICRISAT seeks applications from dynamic and motivated Indian nationals for the position of Associate Scientist – Geospatial Sciences to support the Digital Agriculture cluster under the Global Research Program Resilient Farming Systems. This role is critical to advancing the organisation’s mission of improving agricultural productivity and sustainability in semi-arid regions across Asia and sub-Saharan Africa through advanced remote sensing applications in agriculture. This position will be based at ICRISAT’s Headquarters in Patancheru, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political organisation that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi- arid or dryland tropics has over 2 billion people and 644 million of these are the poorest of the poor. ICRISAT and its partners help empower these disadvantaged populations to overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agricultural production systems.ICRISAT is headquartered at Patancheru near Hyderabad, India, with two regional hubs and eight country offices in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT envisions a prosperous, food-secure and resilient dryland tropics. Its mission is to reduce poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. ICRISAT conducts research on its mandate crops of chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet in the arid and semi-arid tropics. The Institute focuses its work on the drylands and in protecting the environment. Tropical dryland areas are usually seen as resource-poor and perennially beset by shocks such as drought, thereby trapping dryland communities in poverty and hunger and making them dependent on external aid. Please visit - www.icrisat.org

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement methodologies for crop acreage estimation and crop type mapping using advanced remote sensing techniques.
• Conduct yield forecasting for ICRISAT mandate crops in Asia and Africa by integrating satellite data, field observations, and crop models.
• Monitor and assess crop health, stress, and growth stages using multi-temporal and multi-spectral satellite data.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to analyse cropping patterns, land use changes, and agricultural trends at regional and national scales.
• Process and analyse large datasets from cloud-based platforms (e.g., Google Earth Engine, Sentinel Hub) for agricultural applications.
• Support ground truthing and field survey campaigns to validate remote sensing analyses and improve model accuracy.
• Maintain and update geospatial databases of crop, soil, climate, and management data for agricultural monitoring and modelling.
• Contribute to the development of scalable tools and decision support systems for agricultural stakeholders.
• Publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and present results at international conferences.

Essential Qualifications

• PhD in Geospatial Sciences, Environmental Modelling, Agriculture, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related field with a focus on remote sensing of agriculture, with at least 2 years of experience Post PhD in any of the above field's.
• Extensive experience in geospatial sciences, environmental modelling, agriculture, engineering, mathematics, statistics, or related domains, with a strong focus on remote sensing applications in agriculture.
• Demonstrated expertise in crop acreage estimation, crop type mapping, and yield forecasting using advanced remote sensing techniques.
• Proficient in handling and analysing multi-temporal and multi-spectral satellite data, including optical, microwave, and hyperspectral datasets.
• Strong command of remote sensing and GIS software such as ENVI, ERDAS, SNAP, Google Earth Engine, ESRI ArcGIS, and QGIS.
• Advanced programming skills in R, Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for data processing, statistical analysis, automation, and model development.
• Experience in integrating and assimilating diverse datasets, including climate, soil, satellite, and socio-economic data, for comprehensive agricultural analysis.
• Familiarity with crop simulation and modelling tools such as APSIM, DSSAT, as well as empirical and semi-empirical approaches for yield estimation.
• Strong background in statistical analysis, including machine learning and artificial intelligence methods for agricultural and geospatial applications.
• Proven ability to design and implement field surveys and ground-truth data collection protocols for validation of remote sensing outputs.
• Demonstrated record of publishing research findings in peer-reviewed international journals and contributing to high-quality technical reports.
• Experience in developing decision support systems and scalable tools for agricultural monitoring and stakeholder engagement.
• Knowledge of agricultural systems and their interactions with climate, soil conditions, and management practices.
• Hands-on exposure to big data analytics and cloud computing platforms such as AWS and Microsoft Azure for handling large-scale geospatial datasets.
• Demonstrated innovation in developing methodologies for crop mapping, acreage estimation, and scalable monitoring solutions.
• Strong analytical, logical thinking, and problem-solving skills, with a proactive and solution-oriented approach.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, evidenced through scientific publications and technical documentation.

General

This is a contractual role for a period of 24 months (02 years), renewable based on the performance of the incumbent and the institute’s continuing need for the position.

ICRISAT is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing diversity and maintaining a progressive and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status or whether they have a disability.