Staff Careers

The Research Associate will provide support to NASA SPoRT science and application activities related to the air quality thematic area, with special attention on using satellite data from the TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) mission, launched in April 2023. The position will be located at the National Space Science & Technology Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and will support the scientific development and application of satellite remote sensing products.

SPoRT is a NASA project to transition unique observations and research capabilities to the operational weather community to improve short-term forecasts on a regional scale. Based at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, SPoRT is collaborating with the University of Alabama in Huntsville to provide direct science support along with science and technical coordination in the areas of weather, climate, air quality, natural disasters, satellite remote sensing, and data science and applications.

Duties / Responsibilities
• Assist in the coordination of science applications being planned for the upcoming satellite missions, particularly such as NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO mission)
• Provide scientific expertise to facilitate applied science studies in satellite remote sensing and air quality modeling and health air quality
• Design value-added data products for applied science studies using current satellite air pollution instruments, including TROPOMI and the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) and TEMPO missions and model forecast data.
• Process and analyze near real-time satellite data products to aid operational air quality monitoring and disaster response (e.g. wildfire smoke, volcanoes, industrial accidents).
• Support the SPoRT center projects and participate in proposals for new research funding.
• Actively participate and support SPoRT stakeholders through workshops and meetings.
• Occasional travel to major scientific conferences and meetings to present research results.

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Earth Science, Environmental Public Health or a closely related discipline.
• 2-7 years of full-time verifiable work experience.
• Ability to perform satellite and geophysical data processing, analysis, and visualization (preferred experience includes the following sensors: TROPOMI, MODIS, VIIRS, ABI)
• Strong programming background in Python and/or other programming languages
• Understanding of remote sensing theory, satellite data applications, air pollution chemistry, and meteorological principles.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Willingness to work closely with others in a team environment.
• Desire to participate in science workshops and conferences, as well as in publishing results.

• Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, Earth Science, Environmental Public Health or a closely related discipline.
• Experience with machine learning techniques using satellite and/or model datasets.
• Experience with land surface remote sensing and modeling (e.g., LIS, SMAP, Noah-MP) or air quality forecast models (e.g., GEOS-CF, WRF coupled with Chemistry.

$52,216 - $87,741