GD164 Technical Data Curator

Support•Greenbelt, MD

2d•Onsite

About The Position

ADNET Systems, Inc. is seeking a motivated and technically skilled Technical Data Curator to support the GES DISC team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. In this role, you will bridge the gap between raw Earth science data and the scientists and users who depend on it. You will work hands-on with large-scale atmospheric, precipitation, and climate datasets — ensuring they are well-documented, properly formatted, quality-checked, and accessible in modern cloud environments. A key aspect of this role is serving as a technical liaison between data providers — such as instrument teams, mission science teams, and field campaign investigators — and the GES DISC archive. You will translate scientific data deliveries into well-curated, standards-compliant, archive-ready products that serve a broad user community. The ideal candidate has experience both producing and consuming Earth science data — someone who understands the pain points of a data user firsthand and can translate that empathy into better data products and services.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or higher in Earth Science, Atmospheric Science, Computer Science, Geography, Information Science, or a related field (or equivalent professional experience)
Strong Python programming skills, including experience with Earth science libraries such as xarray, netCDF4, h5py, numpy, pandas, or similar
Demonstrated hands-on experience working with gridded (Level 3) and swath (Level 2) data in HDF4/5 and/or NetCDF formats
Familiarity with cloud computing platforms (AWS preferred) and cloud storage concepts (e.g., object storage, cloud-optimized data access)
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with demonstrated ability to work effectively with external stakeholders such as data providers, science teams, or mission teams
Strong attention to detail and commitment to data quality
Effective written and verbal communication skills; ability to produce clear technical documentation
Knowledge of version control systems (e.g., Git/GitHub)
US Citizenship required.
Ability to obtain and maintain a Tier 1 Investigation through NASA.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with or within a NASA DAAC or similar data repository (e.g., NSIDC, ORNL, ASDC, PO.DAAC)
Experience as a data user — i.e., has worked with Earth science datasets in a research, operational, or analytical context and understands common user workflows and pain points
Prior experience acting as a technical point of contact or liaison for data providers or external science teams
Familiarity with GES DISC data holdings or tools such as Giovanni, Earthdata Search, and OPeNDAP
Familiarity with atmospheric science, precipitation, hydrology, or climate data and the communities that use them
Knowledge of metadata standards such as CF Conventions, ACDD, ISO 19115, or NASA's Unified Metadata Model (UMM)
Experience with cloud-optimized formats (Zarr, COG, STAC)
Experience with database management and SQL query writing
Familiarity with data access protocols such as OPeNDAP, THREDDS, or Earthdata APIs
Experience with containerization tools (e.g., Docker)
Contributions to open-source Earth science software or data communities

Responsibilities

Receive, validate, and ingest Earth science data products into the GES DISC archive; ensure data integrity and compliance with metadata standards (e.g., CF Conventions, ACDD, ISO 19115, NASA UMM).
Manage and optimize data holdings in cloud environments (AWS S3); support and promote cloud-native data access patterns including direct S3 access and cloud-optimized data formats such as Zarr and Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF (COG).
Work with common Earth science data formats including HDF4, HDF5, NetCDF-4, GeoTIFF, and others; validate and transform datasets as needed to meet archive standards.
Develop and maintain scripts and pipelines to automate data processing, validation, transformation, and quality assurance workflows, primarily in Python; engage with and maintain legacy code in Perl, SQL, or other languages as needed.
Serve as a primary point of contact for data providers (e.g., instrument teams, mission science teams, field campaign investigators); communicate technical requirements for data format, metadata standards, and delivery protocols; collaborate with providers to resolve data quality issues prior to and following archive ingest.
Serve as a technical resource for data users; troubleshoot data access issues, respond to user inquiries, and advocate for user needs in tool and system improvements.
Coordinate with data providers, GES DISC platform engineers, NASA civil servants (at GES DISC and ESDIS), and the broader DAAC community to implement best practices and ensure consistency across the data archive.
Stay current with evolving data standards, formats, and community practices (e.g., STAC, OGC APIs, Zarr, cloud-optimized formats).