Lead Data Scientist, ML & Imaging Spectroscopy

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Wellbeing programs

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Learning opportunities

Rideshare

Childcare

Flexible schedule

Parental leave

Job summary

NASA JPL in Pasadena seeks a Research Data Scientist IV to advance ML, imaging spectroscopy, and data science for robotic exploration. Lead small teams, develop methods for airborne/satellite platforms, and publish findings with cross-disciplinary collaborators.

The role emphasizes practical delivery, rigorous validation, and collaboration across science and engineering domains within MLIA and ML Instrument Autonomy groups.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in data science, CS, EE or related field with 9+ years experience; or Master’s with 7+ years; or PhD with 5+ years.
• Broad knowledge of machine learning incl. traditional, deep learning and Gen AI architectures.
• Experience with remotely sensed data from airborne and orbital instrumentation, including advanced sensors.
• Demonstrated Principal Investigator leadership of independent, novel research capabilities.
• Demonstrated leadership of technical tasks involving teams of up to 6 persons.
• Demonstrated success in competitive proposal calls in space-related areas.
• ML publication record in respected venues, or equivalent industry delivery experience.
• Experience with software engineering best practices.
• Demonstrated experience with rigorous validation for scientific investigations.
• Strong written and oral communication skills including data visualization and presentation.

Responsibilities

• Conduct R&D of ML and related technologies for science and engineering challenges.
• Develop and lead algorithm and data processing methods for airborne and satellite remote sensing platforms, planetary surface missions, and novel instrument designs.
• Generate large-scale datasets and models from mission data.
• Lead delivery-minded mid-sized research teams on self-won and received tasks.
• Collaborate with domain experts from a variety of natural science and space-related engineering fields.
• Publicize work through peer-reviewed conference, workshop, and journal papers.
• Facilitate the infusion of high quality, data-driven technologies throughout JPL and NASA.

Skills

Machine learning

Deep learning

Gen AI

Data science

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

PhD

Tools

HPC

Cloud computing

Job description

NASA JPL in Pasadena seeks a Research Data Scientist IV to advance ML, imaging spectroscopy, and data science for robotic exploration. Lead small teams, develop methods for airborne/satellite platforms, and publish findings with cross-disciplinary collaborators.

The role emphasizes practical delivery, rigorous validation, and collaboration across science and engineering domains within MLIA and ML Instrument Autonomy groups.