Senior Faculty Specialist

umd

College Park (MD)

On-site

USD 88,000 - 92,000

Full time

3 days ago

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Job summary

University of Maryland in College Park seeks a Senior Faculty Specialist to lead the Digital Agriculture Systems Hub deployment team, overseeing field and workshop operations, sensor testing, and calibration for biomass mapping. You will coordinate regional deployment with industry partners and manage budgets, equipment, and personnel.

The role requires a Master’s in GIS/remote sensing or related field, strong project leadership, and experience with drones, cameras, and data integration.

Qualifications

Master’s degree in GIS, remote sensing, applied data science, or related field.
Experience troubleshooting electronics and computers on agricultural machinery.
Experience with standard agricultural practices and implements.
Experience standardizing data collection for quality control in agricultural research.
Experience standardizing ground-truth data collection across stakeholders.
Experience with drones, handheld and tractor-mounted cameras for data collection.
Experience with metal working and fabrication of custom parts.
Experience with procurement of metal machining equipment.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage the DASH deployment team and field/workshop operations.
Coordinate regional deployment of sensor systems for mapping cover crops and N recommendations.
Lead sensor testing and calibration for biomass mapping and weed/crop species.
Work with partners to implement imaging platforms while maintaining equipment operation.
Lead training sessions for partners on data acquisition and imaging systems.
Develop calibration protocols for cover crop quality estimates using hyperspectral imagery.
Assist with automation of data acquisition and integration from diverse sources.
Supervise technicians and interns to meet research objectives on time.
Procure and set up machining equipment for prototyping.
Coordinate budgets, travel, and equipment use for the deployment team.

Skills

Stakeholder collaboration

Electronics troubleshooting

Agricultural practices

Data standardization

Ground-truth data

Drone data collection

Metalworking

Fabrication

Machining procurement

Team leadership

Sensor deployment

Geospatial data analysis

Documentation

Physical stamina

Driver's license

Education

Master’s degree in GIS, remote sensing, applied data science, or related field

Tools

Drones

Handheld cameras

Tractor-mounted cameras

Metal machining tools

Job description

Job Description Summary

Position Summary: The Senior Faculty Specialist will work in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland. This person will lead the Digital Agriculture Systems Hub (DASH) deployment team housed at the University of Maryland, overseeing and implementing day-to-day field and workshop operations and testing. Primary responsibilities will include coordinating a mid-Atlantic regional deployment of tractor-mounted sensor systems for mapping cover crops and delivering variable rate nitrogen recommendations, leading sensor technology testing and calibration for DASH, and coordinating and managing personnel, purchasing, equipment and vehicle maintenance and use, budgets, and travel for the (DASH) deployment team.

Responsibilities

Lead the Digital Agriculture Systems Hub (DASH) deployment team housed at the University of Maryland, overseeing and implementing day-to-day field and workshop operations and testing.
Coordinate a mid-Atlantic regional deployment of tractor-mounted sensor systems for mapping cover crops and delivering variable rate nitrogen recommendations in a public-private partnership with Willard, Growmark, and The Nature Conservancy.
Lead sensor technology testing and calibration for the Chesapeake Bay region of USDA’s DASH (Digital Agricultural Systems Hub) initiative to identify weed and cover crop species and biomass mapping on experimental research stations.
Work with DASH partners to identify unique implementations of their equipment to establish imaging platforms in a non-intrusive way to allow normal equipment operation.
Lead training sessions with DASH partners to instruct users in data acquisition, operation, and best practices with imaging systems.
Execute satellite calibration with ground-truth data for measuring, monitoring, and reporting platform used in cover crop use and performance mapping in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Develop calibration protocols for cover crop quality estimates using hyperspectral imagery.
Assist with automation of data acquisition and integration from a wide variety of data sources.
Supervise and manage a team of technicians and undergraduate interns to complete research objectives in a timely manner, promote team-oriented research, and diagnose mechanical and electrical issues.
Collaborate on research with a diverse set of academic and scientific partners spanning agronomic, environmental, computer science, engineering, and robotics disciplines.
Procure and set up machining equipment for prototyping of custom equipment.
Coordinate and manage personnel, purchasing, equipment and vehicle maintenance and use, budgets, and travel for (DASH) deployment team.

Minimum Qualifications

Master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, applied data science, or related field.
Ability to work smoothly as part of a well-organized research collaboration with stakeholders from public and private entities to meet research objectives in a time sensitive manner.
Experience troubleshooting electronics and computers on agricultural machinery; knowledge of electrical and mechanical requirements for operation.
Experience with standard agricultural practices and implements in a variety of agricultural settings.
Experience with standardizing data collection for quality control measures in agricultural research to be used at broad-scale implementation.
Experience standardizing ground-truth data collection methods across multiple stakeholder/user groups to verify agricultural models.
Experience with drones, handheld, and tractor-mounted cameras to support collection of agricultural data to verify, scale, and improve agricultural models.
Experience with metal working, welding and fabrication of custom machine parts in a safe team-oriented environment (minimum 2 years preferred)
Experience with procurement of metal machining equipment and understanding of manufacturing standards.
Experience with organizing and creating operational space to inventory and order parts for a variety of applications and unique use-cases.
Demonstrated ability in successful project and personnel management.
Demonstrated ability to deploy sensor technology in agricultural systems and troubleshooting and resolving end-user applications.
Ability to process, integrate, and analyze tabular and geospatial data.
Attention to detail, ability to keep detailed records of data processing and analytics.
Ability and interest in periodic field work that requires lifting and carrying (up to 50 lbs.) and manual labor which may require standing, kneeling, bending, stooping, and reaching.
Valid driver's license.

Preferences

Experience with agricultural cropping systems and field data collection and/or analysis.
Experience with drones, handheld, and tractor-mounted cameras to support collection of hyperspectral agricultural data.
Experience with visual spectrum (RGB), Lidar, and sonar sensors for agricultural applications to map biomass of weed and cover crop species (minimum 2 years preferred).
Ability to create data visualizations into and out of GIS software (ESRI, QGIS).
Working knowledge of Azure cloud platforms.
Experience operating and loading trailers with agricultural machinery.

Physical Demands

Ability to perform indoor and outdoor work that requires lifting and carrying (up to 50 lbs.), standing, kneeling, bending, stooping, and reaching.

Licenses/ Certifications

N/A

Additional Job Details

Candidate must be eligible to work in the United States at the time of hiring. The department will not provide sponsorship for work-visa requirements.

Financial Disclosure Required

For more information on Financial Disclosure, please visit Maryland's State Ethics Commission website.

Department

AGNR-Environmental Science & Technology

Worker Sub-Type

Faculty Regular

Salary Range

$88,000 to $92,000

Benefits Summary

For more information on Regular Faculty benefits select this link.

Background Checks

Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify anyone from employment. Before any adverse decision, the finalist will have an opportunity to provide information to the University regardingdisclosablebackground checkinformation. The University reserves the right to rescind the offer of employment or otherwise decline or terminate employment if the information reported by the background check is deemed incompatible with the position, regardless of when the background check is completed.

Employment Eligibility

The successful candidate must complete employment eligibility verification (on Form I-9) by presenting documents that establish identity and work authorization within the timeframe required by federal immigration law, and where applicable, to demonstrate renewed employment authorization. Failure to complete employment eligibility verification or reverification within the timeframe set forth by law may result in suspension or termination of employment.

EEO Statement

The University of Maryland, College Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment. Please read the University’s Equal Employment Opportunity Statement of Policy.

Title IX Non-Discrimination Notice

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