Research Scientist II, S1-4

University of Alabama in Huntsville; Alabama; On-site; USD 67,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Alabama in Huntsville is seeking a Research Scientist II to lead cloud data ingestion and metadata cataloguing for large Earth Science NASA datasets. You will coordinate data pipelines, validate data quality, and ensure timely, accurate publication of metadata records.

You will design, build, test, and maintain scripts and software that automate business processes, enabling scalable data workflows and reliable system performance for cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in a relevant scientific field or an equivalent combination of education and years of work experience.
• 1–2 years of full-time verifiable work experience (preferably in science, engineering, business, or equivalent).
• Proficiency in Python or other programming languages.
• Familiarity with common scientific data formats, such as gridded data like NetCDF or HDF5
• Ability to document workflows clearly and communicate technical concepts to both scientific and engineering team members
• Knowledge of MS Office Suite

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Task Lead for cloud data ingestion activities by planning, coordinating, and overseeing the integration, validation, optimization, and continuous improvement of data pipelines from multiple sources, ensuring data quality, system performance, and compliance with organizational standards while supporting analytics, reporting, and operational requirements
• Serve as team lead and manage data quality control and troubleshooting efforts by overseeing routine quality assurance reviews of metadata records, identifying and resolving data discrepancies, collaborating with data producers to implement corrective actions, and ensuring data integrity, consistency, and adherence to established standards.
• Manage and oversee the data publication and documentation process by coordinating the ingestion, validation, publication, and maintenance of metadata records, ensuring accurate documentation, data integrity, compliance with organizational standards, and the timely availability of information for stakeholders
• Lead and oversee the design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance of scripts and software solutions that automate business and operational processes, ensuring reliability, scalability, system performance, and adherence to organizational standards.

Skills

Python

NetCDF

HDF5

Education

Master's degree

Tools

ArcGIS

QCIS

GDAL/OGR

Rasterio

Geopandas

Git

GitHub

AWS (S3, EC2)

Job description

Job no: 504101
Department: Information Technology & Systems Center
Work type: Staff Full-time Exempt
Location: Alabama
Categories: Research - Engineering

Purpose of the Position

The Research Scientist II will serve as task lead over various processes and be responsible for data analysis and extracting, validating, and cataloguing vital metadata from complex, large-scale Earth Science NASA scientific data collections.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Serve as the Task Lead for cloud data ingestion activities by planning, coordinating, and overseeing the integration, validation, optimization, and continuous improvement of data pipelines from multiple sources, ensuring data quality, system performance, and compliance with organizational standards while supporting analytics, reporting, and operational requirements
• Serve as team lead and manage data quality control and troubleshooting efforts by overseeing routine quality assurance reviews of metadata records, identifying and resolving data discrepancies, collaborating with data producers to implement corrective actions, and ensuring data integrity, consistency, and adherence to established standards.
• Manage and oversee the data publication and documentation process by coordinating the ingestion, validation, publication, and maintenance of metadata records, ensuring accurate documentation, data integrity, compliance with organizational standards, and the timely availability of information for stakeholders
• Lead and oversee the design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance of scripts and software solutions that automate business and operational processes, ensuring reliability, scalability, system performance, and adherence to organizational standards.

Requirements

• Master's Degree in a relevant scientific field or an equivalent combination of education and years of work experience.
• 1 to 2 years of full-time verifiable work experience (preferably in science, engineering, business, or equivalent).
• Proficiency in Python or other programming languages.
• Familiarity with common scientific data formats, such as gridded data like NetCDF or HDF5
• Ability to document workflows clearly and communicate technical concepts to both scientific and engineering team members
• Knowledge of MS Office Suite

Desired Qualifications

• Foundational knowledge or hands-on experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments (e.g., S3 storage, EC2, Lambda).
• Experience with GIS software (ArcGIS, QCIS) or geospatial libraries (GDAL/OGR, Rasterio, Geospandas)
• Organizational skills and an eye for detail, essential for catching inconsistencies in vast datasets
• Familiarity with Git and GitHub for code sharing and collaboration

Published Salary (if available)

$67,151 - $89,611

Advertised: Jul 08 2026 Central Daylight Time
Applications close:

Please note, job openings are posted for a minimum of three (3) business days and may be removed from the job posting board and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville is an equal opportunity employer (EOE), including an EOE of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.