Machine Learning Wildfire Scientist

Automatic Data Processing, Inc.; Thermal (CA); Remote; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

EmberWorks Sensing seeks a pioneering Fire Behavior Modeling Scientist to own and evolve our modeling suite. You will shape methods, validate results, and deliver outputs to operations teams using airborne thermal data.

You will work with geospatial engineers to build a production pipeline, train models on spatiotemporal data, and define compute needs for training and inference on GPU-enabled cloud infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of fire behavior models and underlying physics/maths.
• Hands-on ML or data-driven modeling on spatiotemporal data.
• Strong remote sensing background with raster imagery experience.
• Proficient in Python geospatial stack and Git.

Responsibilities

• Own fire behavior modeling effort from integration to new methods.
• Build and integrate models into automated production pipelines using airborne thermal data and external inputs.
• Research and develop new modeling approaches with empirical, physical, and ML methods.
• Define validation criteria and interpret outputs, diagnosing data/model issues.
• Specify compute requirements for training/inference and coordinate GPU/distributed resources.
• Engage with academic partners and maintain external collaborations.

Skills

Fire behavior modeling (ELMFIRE/WRF-SI

Machine learning on spatiotemporal I

Remote sensing & raster imagery

Python data stack (xarray, GDAL, ras

GPU training on cloud

Independent team member in R&D

Education

Bachelor's degree in fire science, atmospheric science, remote sensing, CS, environmental science or related field

Tools

PyTorch

GDAL

rasterio

Git

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

EmberWorks Sensors Technical Thermal, CA, US

2 days ago Requisition ID: 1115

About EmberWorks

EmberWorks Sensing is the remote sensing arm of the R&D division of Coulson Aviation. Our flagship product, ORBIT, is a persistent aerial thermal sensing system flown on Coulson air attack aircraft. ORBIT automatically captures and delivers near-real-time fire intelligence straight into the tools incident teams already use.

The Role - Remote Job

Operational fire behavior models have been built and calibrated on limited observations, and their predictions often diverge from what crews see on the ground. EmberWorks is positioned to help close that gap: our aircraft already fly over active fires as part of routine operations, collecting thermal observations as they go.

You will own EmberWorks' fire behavior modeling effort, from first integration to new methods. This is a new function for us and a founding position, so you will shape which approaches we pursue, how results are validated, and how outputs reach the people who use them.

You will join a small, hands-on team of geospatial and platform engineers who build our data pipeline and cloud infrastructure, and who will work closely with you to get the right data to your models. You will be the team's modeling expert, and we expect you to tell us what we're getting wrong.

What You'll Do

• Evaluate existing fire behavior modeling approaches and select the right fit for our data.
• Build and implement models in an automated production pipeline using airborne thermal observations plus external fuel, weather, and terrain data.
• Research and develop new modeling approaches, drawing on empirical, physical, and machine learning methods as appropriate.
• Own model validation and interpretation: define what "good" looks like, detect bad outputs, and determine whether a problem lies in the model or upstream in the data.
• Define compute requirements for training and inference and work with our platform engineer to set up GPU and distributed computing resources and an efficient remote workflow.
• Maintain connections with the academic fire science community and help EmberWorks engage with research partners.

What We're Looking For

Required

• Deep understanding of fire behavior models (e.g. ELMFIRE, WRF-SITE, FSIM, etc), including the underlying physics and math, not just experience running existing models.
• Hands-on experience building and training machine learning or data-driven models on spatiotemporal data.
• Strong remote sensing background, including working with raster imagery (thermal experience a strong plus).
• Proficiency in scientific geospatial programming stack (for example, python xarray, GDAL, rasterio, PyTorch or similar). Familiarity with Git based version control.
• Experience running model training on cloud compute, including GPU resources.
• Ability to work independently in a small R&D team and explain modeling decisions to engineers and operations staff.
• Bachelor's degree in fire science, atmospheric science, remote sensing, computer science, environmental science or a related field.

Preferred

• Proven experience delivering at least one wildfire project end to end, or sustained, in-depth support of an established wildfire product suite. Active ties to academic or government fire research groups.
• Experience with data assimilation or physics-informed ML.
• Knowledge of optics and radiometry, including thermal sensor calibration.
• Familiarity with wildland fire operations and the agencies and tools that support them.
• Advanced degree and research in fire science, atmospheric science, remote sensing, computer science, environmental science or a related field, or equivalent applied experience.

How we Hire: -

• We actually read your resumes and don't rely on automated filtering methods
• There is no gating system for which ones we receive.
• We value honesty and authenticity.
• If you submit a cover letter, we will read it.

Why Join

This is a founding position on a small team doing new work with unique airborne fire observation data. Your work gets tested on active fires, not just benchmark datasets, so you see quickly how it holds up in the field. You will also have direct access to leadership and room to set technical direction. We are looking for someone who finds that more compelling than a well-defined role at an established organization.