Post Doctorate RA - Remote Sensing Specialist

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory • Richland, WA

8d

About The Position

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget.
Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.
The Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate (EBSD) leads critical research in four areas: Atmospheric, Climate & Earth Sciences, Biological Sciences, Environmental Molecular Sciences, and Global Change. Our vision is to develop a predictive understanding of biological and Earth systems in transition. We aim to understand energy and material flows within the integrated Earth system; to understand, predict, and control the response of biosystems to environmental and/or genomic changes; and to Model the Earth system from the subsurface to the atmosphere.
The Atmospheric, Climate, and Earth Sciences (ACES) Division comprises multidisciplinary teams working to advance the predictive knowledge of Earth systems. The ACES team includes researchers at every career stage who collaborate across disciplines to address some of the most pressing challenges which are critical to ensure a robust U.S. energy system. Scientists in ACES provide their expertise to major sections of the Department of Energy's Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research program, including the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility, the Atmospheric System Research program, and the Earth & Environmental Systems Modeling program.

We are seeking a Remote Sensing Specialist at the postdoctoral level to advance research and operations at the intersection of applied energy and fundamental atmospheric science. The successful candidate will conduct original research on boundary-layer and cloud processes using active and passive remote sensors, develop data processing pipelines, and play a hands-on role in the QA/QC, value-added products (VAPs) and limited operation of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility’s lidar network and other field campaign data collected by DOE. This role includes collaboration with Raman and Doppler lidar experts and integration of lidar products into field campaigns and model–data studies.

Requirements

• Candidates must have received a PhD within the past five years (60 months) or within the next 8 months from an accredited college or university.
• Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science, Earth/Environmental Science, Physics, Electrical/Optical Engineering, or related field.
• Familiarity with various lidar technologies such as Doppler, Raman, High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) and Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL).
• Familiarity with machine learning and AI tools for processing remote sensing observations.
• Experience with ground-based lidar measurements and retrievals of winds, trace gas concentrations, temperature and aerosol optical properties.
• Proficiency in scientific programming (Python, or MATLAB/R), data formats (netCDF/HDF/ZARR), and Linux-based workflows.
• Strong communication skills; ability to work across diverse teams and with facility mentors/users.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on experience with remote sensing instruments, data, AI and ML tools, and VAPs (especially Doppler lidar processing and QC).
• Field deployment experience (including marine/shipboard) and motion-correction techniques using ship motion data.
• Familiarity with other remote sensing instrument retrievals (such as microwave radiometer and micro rain radar) and their integration with lidar products.
• Practical knowledge of laser safety and mobile facility deployment considerations.

Responsibilities

• Develop new processing algorithms using raw spectral information from Doppler lidars (either on land-based at ARM sites or shipborne).
• Use AI/ML techniques to better characterize the uncertainty of derived parameters from Doppler lidars.
• Maintain and improve upon existing operational lidar signal processing algorithms for the ARM Raman lidars.
• Deep knowledge of remote sensing instrument operations and support with troubleshooting of instruments along with field technicians.
• Implement and document laser-safety, eye-safety, and deployment compliance practices for mobile and fixed platforms, coordinating with facility staff on operational constraints and site safety.
• Contribute to instrument configuration guidance, readiness checks, and mentor-led reviews of new or upgraded lidar systems.
• Integrate multi-sensor observations (e.g., microwave radiometer, micro rain radar) with lidars for thermodynamic and precipitation profiling; apply physical retrieval and iterative approaches for vertical profiles.
• Advance boundary layer and cloud–aerosol interaction studies relevant to various DOE mission spaces, atmospheric composition, and process level model evaluation using lidar instrument simulators.
• Plan and execute remote sensing deployments (including marine/ship platforms), oversee hardening and environmental readiness, and ensure autonomous operations—including real time QC, telemetry, and on board processing.
• Build reproducible pipelines (Python/xarray/netCDF, Linux, Git) for ingest, processing, and VAP generation; contribute code and documentation that meet ARM/PNNL standards.
• Publish results in peer reviewed journals; present at scientific meetings (e.g., ARM/BER, AMS/AGU); collaborate across multi institutional teams and with instrument mentors.

Benefits

• Employees and their families are offered medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, robust telehealth care options, several mental health benefits, free wellness coaching, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, basic life insurance, disability insurance, employee assistance program, business travel insurance, tuition assistance, relocation, backup childcare, legal benefits, supplemental parental bonding leave, surrogacy and adoption assistance, and fertility support.
• Employees are automatically enrolled in our company-funded pension plan and may enroll in our 401 (k) savings plan with company match.
• Employees may accrue up to 120 vacation hours per year and may receive ten paid holidays per year.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees