Postdoctoral Scholar Position - Satellite Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Position Overview

School / Campus / College: College of Engineering

Organization: Civil & Environmental Engineering

Title: Postdoctoral Scholar Position - Satellite Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Position Details

Position Description

Position description:
The Terrain Analysis and Cryosphere Observation lab at the University of Washington has an opening for a full-time postdoctoral scholar position. The successful candidate will support NASA projects to develop remote sensing data processing pipelines for stereo and lidar data fusion, leveraging archives of commercial very-high-resolution stereo satellite imagery (Maxar, Planet, BlackSky), satellite laser altimetry from the NASA ICESat-2 and GEDI missions, and publicly available airborne LiDAR data (USGS 3DEP, ASO, NASA G-LiHT).

Primary science applications involve the cryosphere, including, but not limited to, seasonal snow, glacier change, and natural hazards. The successful candidate will have opportunities to engage with the ICESat-2 SlideRule team, participate in future instrument design efforts, and participate in local fieldwork to perform UAS surveys for training and validation dataset preparation.

The appointment will be in the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington with David Shean as advisor and potential co-advising arrangements with research scientists at the UW eScience Institute and/or Applied Physics Laboratory Polar Science Center. The successful candidate will be encouraged to apply for a UW eScience Data Science Postdoctoral Fellowship.

This position is a full-time 100% FTE, 12-month, Postdoctoral Scholar position. Reappointment for an additional 1-2 years is possible depending upon satisfactory performance and funding availability. 

Postdoctoral scholars at UW are represented by UAW 4121 and are subject to a collective bargaining agreement, unless agreed exclusion criteria apply. For more information, please visit the University of Washington Labor Relations website:
https://hr.uw.edu/files/labor/UAW-4121-Postdoc-2021-2023-CBA-TA.pdf

Duties and Responsibilities:
● Develop processing pipelines for raster and/or point cloud data
● Develop fusion approaches to integrate multiple data sources
● Prepare, release and maintain open-source software and open datasets
● Publish results in open-access publications and present at international
conferences/workshops
● Engage with Ph.D. and undergraduate students in the group and others at UW pursuing complimentary research

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:
● Ph.D. (at the time of appointment) in Earth Science, Computer Science, Geodesy, or
other relevant STEM field
● Experience working with satellite, airborne, and/or UAS remote sensing data
● Strong programming skills and a commitment to open-source and open-science
principles
● Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with publication record
● Passionate, self-motivated and able to work independently and collaboratively

Desired Qualifications (one or more):
● Experience with computer vision, stereo photogrammetry, and/or Structure-from-Motion
(SfM), including open-source options (e.g., Ames Stereo Pipeline, SETSM, MicMac,
COLMAP)
● Experience processing satellite laser altimetry and/or LiDAR data, including open-source
options (e.g., PDAL, LASTools)
● Experience with point cloud co-registration and gridding
● Experience developing, applying, and evaluating machine learning models for geospatial
data analysis
● Experience deploying research and/or production workflows in the cloud or
high-performance computing environments

Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials via Interfolio. Review of applications will begin
April 17, 2022.

1. Resume or CV
2. Cover letter briefly describing qualifications, research interests, professional goals, and specific interest in this position. If you are missing any of the "minimum qualifications", or if you have any of the "desired qualifications,” please mention this in your cover letter or resume/CV.
3. Diversity Statement: A one-page description of your contributions to and vision for promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
4. Contact information (name, position, email) for 3 references
5. Sexual Misconduct Disclosure Form: State law requires that the University of Washington obtain the Disclosure of Sexual Misconduct declaration signed by the candidate. The declaration will require you to disclose any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct, to authorize current and past employers to disclose to the UW any sexual misconduct currently being investigated and/or committed by you, and to release current and past employers from any liability.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.

Commitment to Diversity

The University of Washington is committed to building diversity among its faculty, librarian, staff, and student communities, and articulates that commitment in the UW Diversity Blueprint (http://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/). Additionally, the University’s Faculty Code recognizes faculty efforts in research, teaching and/or service that address diversity and equal opportunity as important contributions to a faculty member’s academic profile and responsibilities (https://www.washington.edu/admin/rules/policies/FCG/FCCH24.html#2432).

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements and Information

Under Washington State Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14.1, University of Washington (UW) workers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof thereof, or receive a UW-approved medical or religious exemption. This requirement will be a condition of any offer associated with this recruitment. For more information, please visit https://www.washington.edu/coronavirus/vaccination-requirement/.