Staff Data Scientist - Wildfire

Overstory; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Flexible, autonomous environment

Home office stipend

Ongoing education budgets

Job summary

Overstory is seeking a Staff Data Scientist, Wildfire, to lead the scientific foundation of our Fuel Detection Model, translating satellite and environmental data into wildfire risk insights. You will set accuracy, design validation methods, and ensure fire science grounding across modeling decisions.

Join a multidisciplinary team of ML engineers and product professionals, advancing production-ready solutions that support utilities in mitigating catastrophic wildfires and protecting ecosystems.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of applied research or data science in wildfire-related fields.
• Expertise with remote sensing and geospatial analysis on satellite data.
• Strong ML skills in Python with GeoPandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, or XGBoost.
• Proven ability to design validation studies and evaluation frameworks.
• Excellent communication translating complex science to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead research on estimating vegetation structure, fuel conditions, and wildfire risk from satellite data.
• Design validation methods, ground-truth strategies, and uncertainty quantification with real-world impact.
• Prototype and refine ML models; collaborate with ML engineers for production.
• Integrate fire science with data-driven methods.
• Define experiments standards for reproducibility and interpretability.
• Communicate findings to engineers, product teams, customers, and wildfire community.
• Mentor ML engineers on scientific methodology and domain reasoning.

Skills

8+ years wildfire science research

Remote sensing & geospatial analysis

Python & ML libraries

GeoPandas

scikit-learn

PyTorch

XGBoost

Model validation & evaluation design

Scientific communication

Fire behavior knowledge (optional)

GCP/Vertex AI familiarity

Remote collaboration in distributed 팀

Tools

Geospatial tooling

Job description

Role & Team

We are excited to add a Staff Data Scientist, Wildfire to our team. This individual will lead the scientific foundation of our Fuel Detection Model, the core engine that translates satellite and environmental data into an understanding of vegetation structure, fuel loads, and wildfire risk.

Working alongside ML engineers, and a product team, you’ll define accuracy for our models, design the research and validation methods that prove it, and ensure our modeling choices are grounded in fire science and remote sensing fundamentals. This is a great opportunity for someone who is energized by open scientific questions with direct real-world stakes, and who wants their research to shape how utilities prevent catastrophic wildfires.

Time Zone Requirement: North America (NST, AST, EST, CST, MST, PST)

What You’ll Do

• Lead research into how vegetation structure, fuel conditions, and wildfire risk can be estimated from satellite, LiDAR, and environmental data across diverse geographies

• Design rigorous validation and evaluation methodologies, including ground-truth strategies, uncertainty quantification, and error analysis tied to real-world impact

• Prototype and refine ML modeling approaches, then partner with ML engineers to translate them into production systems

• Integrate established fire science, such as fuel models and fire behavior frameworks, with data-driven methods

• Define scientific standards for experimentation, reproducibility, and model interpretability across the modeling organization

• Communicate research findings clearly to engineers, product teams, customers, and the broader wildfire science community

• Mentor ML engineers on scientific methodology and domain reasoning

Skills & Experience

• 8+ years of applied research or data science experience in wildfire science, fire ecology, forestry, remote sensing, atmospheric science, or a related quantitative field

• Deep expertise in remote sensing and geospatial analysis, including working with satellite imagery and large-scale environmental datasets

• Strong statistical modeling and machine learning skills in Python, with tools like GeoPandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, or XGBoost

• Track record of designing validation studies and evaluation frameworks for environmental or geospatial models

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to make complex scientific work legible across technical and non-technical audience

Nice To Have

• Familiarity with fire behavior or fuels modeling frameworks (e.g., Rothermel-based models, LANDFIRE fuel classifications)

• Experience integrating physics-based models with ML, or with active learning and uncertainty quantification

• Peer-reviewed publications in wildfire science, remote sensing, or environmental modeling

• Familiarity with GCP, Vertex AI, or similar cloud-based platforms

• Experience in remote-first or globally distributed team

What We Offer

• Competitive, location-specific compensation and benefits

• Flexible, autonomous and collaborative working environment rooted in trust - we build our work days around our lives, not the other way around

• Home office stipend, co-working and ongoing education budgets

• A company culture that genuinely embodies each of our core values

• To be part of truly mission-driven work that reduces wildfires, protects earth’s natural resources and helps solve our climate crisis