Geospatial Data Scientist

KBR•Edison Township, SD

13d•Onsite

About The Position

KBR is seeking a full-time Geospatial Data Scientist to join its team in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, supporting work at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. The position is part of the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), a NASA-funded project operated in partnership by the USGS and NASA as part of NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System. The role works with geospatial data scientists, system engineers, user services representatives, and outreach staff to support LP DAAC activities and distribute data to the earth science community. The Geospatial Data Scientist will use GIS software and scripting techniques to assess a broad range of remote sensing data for suitability in NASA’s Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS), and validate AppEEARS outputs against source data. The role collaborates with science teams and data providers to understand user needs, develop science enablement materials, solve science application problems, investigate emerging technologies, and produce web content and scientific presentations.

Requirements

Fundamental understanding of remote sensing data from multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal, and LiDAR sensors.
Demonstrated knowledge of GIS techniques, remote sensing principles, and related science applications.
Practical experience processing and analyzing imagery with GIS and remote sensing software such as ArcGIS, ArcGIS Pro, ERDAS, ENVI, and QGIS.
Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python and/or R.
Experience using version control systems such as Git/GitHub to manage and collaborate on scripts and code.
Familiarity with raster and vector data processing techniques.
Familiarity with metadata standards and experience applying QA/QC methodologies to remote sensing data products.
Ability to communicate regularly, professionally, and clearly at general, technical, and management levels with team members, science teams, and the science user community.
Research experience in interdisciplinary working environments.
Strong attention to organization, detail, and record keeping.
Excellent written and oral communication skills, including effective questioning, listening, and presentation skills.
High degree of initiative and self-motivation.
Experience developing training materials and organizing and conducting training workshops.
Excellent interpersonal skills and experience working effectively with varied stakeholders; demonstrated ability to collaborate across disciplines and with collaborative institutions and agencies.
Working knowledge of main remote sensing and GIS tools and software.
Excellent organizational and time management skills.
Experience coordinating and tracking tasks and deliverables across multiple concurrent projects using project management tools or methodologies such as Kanban or Agile.
Experience maintaining clear, organized technical documentation for workflows, code, and data quality procedures.
Must be a U.S. permanent resident and eligible to obtain the government security credential required for the position.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Python-based geospatial libraries such as xarray, rasterio, and earthaccess.
Familiarity with machine learning or statistical modeling techniques, such as random forest and other classification or regression models, applied to remote sensing or science data use cases.
Experience working directly in cloud computing environments such as AWS or NASA Earthdata Cloud for geospatial data processing.
Familiarity with cloud-optimized geospatial data formats and catalogs, such as Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG), Zarr, NetCDF, and the SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC).
Experience interacting with or testing APIs to access, process, or validate geospatial data.
Working understanding of large language models (LLMs) and AI-assisted agents/tools, with day-to-day experience using them to review or develop documents and code.
Bachelor’s degree in Remote Sensing, Geography, Environmental Science, or a related field.
Master’s degree preferred.
Three or more years of directly related professional experience.

Responsibilities

Participate in research and data evaluation activities as part of a multidisciplinary team, including task leads, system development teams, communications and outreach, and user services.
Collaborate with data providers and science teams to understand dataset characteristics and the needs of their user communities.
Build and expand product knowledge alongside NASA mission science teams to address and resolve user inquiries.
Evaluate remote sensing datasets and associated metadata for accuracy and compliance with data standards, and apply QA/QC methods to assess dataset suitability for AppEEARS and validate its outputs.
Use GIS software and scripting techniques to analyze new product and metadata specifications and confirm that results are expected and accurate.
Use version control systems such as Git/GitHub to develop, document, and share scripts and science enablement materials collaboratively.
Author web content and presentation materials for conferences and workshops as opportunities arise.
Develop science enablement materials, such as Jupyter and R notebooks, to help user communities work with datasets archived by NASA Earthdata.
Create maps, charts, graphs, tables, and other figures for presentations and publications.
Attend occasional scientific conferences and meetings to present project work and collaborate with other professionals.
Prepare and present project results and methodology to customers as requested.
Coordinate and track tasks and deliverables across multiple concurrent projects and science teams using project management tools.
Maintain clear technical documentation of workflows, scripts, and QA procedures for internal reference and user-facing materials.
Maintain regular communication with staff, customers, and managers.