Satellite Data Scientist—Retrievals & Operational Analytics

Blackwing

El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY)

Hybrid

USD 120,000 - 180,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Significant stock options

401(k) with employer matching

Full health coverage

Relocation assistance

Unlimited PTO

Parental leave

Lunch provided in-office

EV charging at HQ

Job summary

Rainmaker seeks a Satellite Remote Sensing Researcher to expand satellite observations across research and operations. You will join experienced satellite scientists and add scientific capacity and stronger computational execution to the team.

Your work may include developing and validating retrievals, building automated data products, supporting operational cloud analysis, fusing satellite observations with radar and aircraft data, and pursuing applied research under guidance.

Qualifications

Degree in atmospheric science, meteorology, remote sensing, physics, applied mathematics, electrical engineering, CS, or related field.
Strong understanding of satellite observations, radiative transfer, retrievals, calibration, validation, or uncertainty.

Responsibilities

Develop, reproduce, improve, and validate satellite retrieval algorithms for clouds, precipitation, atmospheric state, and cloud-seeding opportunities.
Work with microwave sounders and polar-orbiting observations, incorporating geostationary imagery for coverage and context.
Build automated, documented workflows that transform raw observations into scientific and operational products.
Evaluate SLW, cloud-phase, cloud-top, moisture, temperature, precipitation, and related products against independent observations.
Collocate satellite data with radar, NWP, soundings, surface observations, and Rainmaker platforms.
Quantify retrieval bias, uncertainty, representativeness, latency, coverage, and failure modes by meteorological regime.
Support real-time and retrospective cloud analysis for cloud-seeding operations.
Improve reliability, speed, and usability of satellite-data processing across the team.
Contribute to research directions with Rainmaker's satellite scientists.
Collaborate with ML engineers when data-driven retrievals or multimodal models are justified.
Work with software engineers to transition research workflows into reliable operational systems.
Communicate results, limitations, and uncertainty clearly to researchers, operators, and engineers.