Multimodal Earth Observation Postdoc: Fire Risk & Recovery

ORAU; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

ORAU and NASA's Postdoctoral Program in Earth Science invite doctoral researchers to engage in data‑driven geospatial projects at NASA centers. The role focuses on wildfire risk, vegetation structure from LiDAR, SAR, and multimodal Earth observation foundation models, with mentorship across core NASA missions.

Applicants should hold a doctoral degree in a related field; experience with GEDI LiDAR, Sentinel data, and ML frameworks is valuable.

Qualifications

• Candidates should hold or be pursuing a doctoral degree in Geography, Earth Science, Remote Sensing, Computer Science, Forestry, Ecology, or a related discipline, with a strong foundation in geospatial analysis or computational modeling.
• Favorable candidates will possess academic research experience with remote sensing data, specifically LiDAR (e.g., GEDI), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and multispectral optical time-series. Experience exploring machine learning and deep learning techniques for geospatial applications is highly desirable to effectively engage with Earth observation foundation models.
• Technical proficiency in scientific programming (Python or R) and deep learning frameworks (PyTorch or TensorFlow) is recommended, alongside experience processing large spatial datasets using cloud or high-performance computing environments.
• Additionally, a foundational understanding of fire ecology, forest dynamics, or aboveground biomass estimation, coupled with strong scientific communication skills, will greatly benefit the participant's research and collaboration efforts.

Skills

Geospatial analysis

Remote sensing

Machine learning

Python

PyTorch/TensorFlow

Education

Doctoral degree (or in progress) in Geography, Earth Science, Remote Sensing, CS, Forestry, Ecology

Tools

GEDI LiDAR

Sentinel-1 SAR

Sentinel-2 imagery

Cloud computing

Job description

ORAU and NASA's Postdoctoral Program in Earth Science invite doctoral researchers to engage in data‑driven geospatial projects at NASA centers. The role focuses on wildfire risk, vegetation structure from LiDAR, SAR, and multimodal Earth observation foundation models, with mentorship across core NASA missions.

Applicants should hold a doctoral degree in a related field; experience with GEDI LiDAR, Sentinel data, and ML frameworks is valuable.