Remote Sensing Engineer

Riverside Research; Fair Lakes (VA); On-site; USD 97,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Riverside Research seeks a Remote Sensing Engineer to support development, analysis, and exploitation of remote sensing data for national security and geospatial missions. The role requires TS/SCI clearance and works across satellite, aerial, and other imagery, with Python-based tool development and pipeline automation.

The position emphasizes collaboration with engineers, data scientists, and intelligence analysts to deliver mission-focused solutions, plus documentation and evaluation of new

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI security clearance (required).
• Bachelor's degree or 8 years of experience in Remote Sensing, Geospatial Science, Geography, GIS, CS, Engineering, Physics, Environmental Science, or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

• Process, analyze, and interpret satellite, airborne, and other remotely sensed imagery.
• Develop and maintain geospatial analysis workflows and automated processing pipelines.
• Design and implement Python-based tools to support imagery processing, feature extraction, and geospatial analysis.
• Perform image classification, object detection, change detection, and spatial analysis using commercial and open-source tools.
• Support sensor calibration, validation, and quality assurance activities.
• Collaborate with engineers, data scientists, and intelligence analysts to develop mission-focused solutions.
• Prepare technical documentation, reports, and presentations for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Evaluate emerging remote sensing technologies and recommend improvements to existing workflows.
• Contribute to project planning, technical discussions, and continuous process improvement initiatives.

Skills

Python programming

Geospatial analysis

Remote sensing

GIS

Education

Bachelor's degree or 8 years experience in related field

Tools

ArcGIS Pro

QGIS

ENVI

ERDAS Imagine

GDAL

Rasterio

GeoPandas

Shapely

OpenCV

Job description

Riverside Overview

Riverside Research is an independent National Security Nonprofit dedicated to research and development in the national interest. We provide high-end technical services, research and development, and prototype solutions to some of the country’s most challenging technical problems. All Riverside Research opportunities require U.S. Citizenship.

Position Overview

We are seeking a skilled Remote Sensing Engineer to support the development, analysis, and exploitation of remote sensing data for national security, defense, and geospatial intelligence missions. The ideal candidate has experience working with geospatial datasets, remote sensing technologies, and automation tools, and is comfortable collaborating across multidisciplinary teams to solve complex technical challenges.

An active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance is required for this position.

This position can be located in Fairfax or Springfield, VA or Beavercreek, OH.

Responsibilities

• Process, analyze, and interpret satellite, airborne, and other remotely sensed imagery.


• Develop and maintain geospatial analysis workflows and automated processing pipelines.


• Design and implement Python-based tools to support imagery processing, feature extraction, and geospatial analysis.


• Perform image classification, object detection, change detection, and spatial analysis using commercial and open-source tools.


• Support sensor calibration, validation, and quality assurance activities.


• Work closely with engineers, data scientists, and intelligence analysts to develop mission-focused solutions.


• Prepare technical documentation, reports, and presentations for technical and non-technical audiences.


• Evaluate emerging remote sensing technologies and recommend improvements to existing workflows.


• Contribute to project planning, technical discussions, and continuous process improvement initiatives.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI security clearance (required).


• Bachelor's degree or 8 years of experience in Remote Sensing, Geospatial Science, Geography, GIS, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Environmental Science, or a related technical discipline preferred. Applicable experience will be considered in lieu of degree.


• Experience processing and analyzing satellite, aerial, or other remotely sensed imagery.


• Proficiency with remote sensing and GIS software such as ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, ENVI, ERDAS Imagine, or similar platforms.


• Strong Python programming skills for geospatial analysis and workflow automation.


• Experience with geospatial libraries such as GDAL, Rasterio, GeoPandas, Shapely, or OpenCV.


• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently in a remote, collaborative environment.


• Looking for candidates with experience in one or more of the following:
  
  
  • RF
  
  
  • Elevation/Terrain
  
  
  • Non-Earth Imaging (NEI)
  
  
  • SAR
  
  
  • Infrared: SWIR, MWIR, thermal
  
  
  • Hyperspectral (HSI)
  
  
  • LiDAR and 3D
  
  
  • Airborne UAS
  
  
  • Non-imagery: AIS, Adtec, ADS-B, and open-source
  
  
  • Photogrammetry
  
  
  • Full Motion Video (FMV)
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting DoD, NGA, NRO, or Intelligence Community programs.


• Experience with SAR, LiDAR, hyperspectral, multispectral, or thermal imagery.


• Familiarity with cloud-based geospatial processing environments such as AWS or Azure.


• Experience with machine learning or computer vision techniques applied to geospatial imagery.


• Knowledge of containerization technologies such as Docker and modern software development practices.


• Experience with Git and collaborative software development workflows.


• Additional preferred experience in the following areas is preferred:
  
  
  • Motion Target Indicator (MTI)
  
  
  • EO
  
  
  • Object Detection
  
  
  • Change Detection
  
  
  • Maritime Domain Analysis
  
  

Global Comp

$97,000 - $135,000 This represents the typical compensation range for this position based on experience, location and other factors.

Closing Statement

Riverside Research Institute is a not-for-profit, technology-oriented defense company, where service to our customers and support of our staff is our overall mission. Riverside is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding recruitment and hiring. Riverside offers comprehensive compensation and benefit packages to our employees. Riverside bases its employment decisions solely on technical experience, qualifications and other job-related criteria related to our organizational purpose as a not-for-profit company, and without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran’s status or any other status legally protected by applicable federal, state, and local law.