Bridging Pre-Fire Risk and Post-Fire Resilience: Integrating GEDI Lidar, ECOSTRESS, and Multispectral Time-Series for Next-Generation Wildfire Assessment

ORAU; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

NASA Postdoctoral Program fellow will advance Earth science research by integrating GEDI and ECOSTRESS observations with Sentinel and Landsat time series to characterize wildfire severity and post-fire recovery in the western United States. The project provides hands-on work in geospatial analysis, multi-sensor Earth observation, and reproducible code using Google Earth Engine and GIS.

Educational activities include literature reviews, preparing figures and analyses for peer‑reviewed

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree required.
• Citizenship/visa eligibility as per program guidelines.
• Strong background in geospatial analysis and Earth observation.

Responsibilities

• Conduct geospatial analyses of wildfire impact and post-fire recovery.
• Integrate GEDI/ECOSTRESS with Sentinel/Landsat data.
• Develop reproducible workflows in Google Earth Engine and GIS.

Skills

Geospatial analysis

Remote sensing

Earth observation

Education

Doctoral Degree

Tools

Google Earth Engine

GIS

Job description

Organization

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Reference Code

0354-NPP-NOV26-JPL-EarthSci

Application Deadline

11/1/2026 6:00:59 PM Eastern Time Zone

Description

About the NASA Postdoctoral Program

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA’s missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.

The participant will engage in a research and training project focused on advancing the use of NASA Earth observations for understanding wildfire impacts and post-fire ecosystem recovery in the western United States. The project will provide hands-on experience in satellite remote sensing, geospatial analysis, wildfire science, and multi-sensor Earth observation, complementing the participant’s educational and professional background while expanding knowledge relevant to NASA’s Earth science mission.

The participant will research approaches for integrating observations from NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) and ECOSTRESS instruments with Sentinel and Landsat time series to characterize vegetation structure, ecosystem water stress, wildfire severity, and post-fire recovery. Research activities will include collecting, processing, and analyzing geospatial datasets for major western U.S. wildfire events, such as the Dixie and Caldor fires. The participant will gain experience evaluating three-dimensional canopy structure derived from GEDI, thermal and evapotranspiration information from ECOSTRESS, spectral indicators from optical satellite observations, and complementary information related to vegetation and fuel conditions.

Through this research, the participant will investigate how pre-fire vegetation structure influences spatial variations in burn severity and whether combinations of post-fire structural change and evapotranspiration anomalies can provide early indications of delayed forest recovery or potential vegetation-type conversion. The participant will gain practical experience developing and evaluating reproducible geospatial analysis methods using platforms such as Google Earth Engine and GIS, comparing multi-sensor indicators, creating maps of pre-fire vegetation conditions and post-fire recovery trajectories, and assessing the scientific strengths and limitations of different remote-sensing approaches.

The participant will also collaborate with researchers to interpret results in the context of wildfire ecology and NASA Earth system science. Educational activities may include participating in scientific discussions, reviewing relevant literature, documenting research methods, contributing to an open-source research code repository, preparing scientific figures and analyses, and participating in the preparation of research presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

Through these activities, the participant will gain knowledge of how complementary structural, thermal, and spectral observations can be combined to study interactions among vegetation structure, ecosystem water stress, wildfire impacts, and ecosystem resilience. The research experience will provide transferable skills in multi-sensor Earth observation, geospatial data analysis, scientific computing, and interdisciplinary environmental research while contributing to the development of approaches relevant to future NASA Earth system monitoring and wildfire applications.

Field of Science

Earth Science

Advisors

Hugo Lee

[e-mail]

[phone]

Olga Kalashnikova

[e-mail]

[phone]

Nicholas LaHaye

[e-mail]

9253246087

Applications with citizens from Designated Countries will not be accepted at this time, unless they are Legal Permanent Residents of the United States. A complete list of Designated Countries can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/oiir/export-control.

Eligibility

• U.S. Citizens;
• U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR);
• Foreign Nationals eligible for an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa status; and,
• Applicants for LPR, asylees, or refugees in the U.S. at the time of application with 1) a valid EAD card and 2) I-485 or I-589 forms in pending status

Questions about this opportunity? Please email [e-mail]

Point of Contact

Mikeala

Eligibility Requirements

• Degree: Doctoral Degree.