Staff Careers

We are currently seeking a research associate to provide science applications and stakeholder engagement support to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Earth Science Branch (ESB) related to research-to-operations transition of wildland fire science. This position will support the FireSense Project Office and MSFC wildland fire/prescribed burn projects in the areas of stakeholder engagement, science applications, and training activities. Experience in wildland fire and prescribed burn applications, land surface modeling, boundary layer meteorology, lightning meteorology, fire fuels, smoke & air quality, or remote sensing products is strongly desired. The ability to translate complex scientific content for end-user/decision-maker consumption and interface with local, state, tribal, and federal burn bosses/land managers is a must, and experience with social science/social media research into the user experience (UX) of science applications and/or vulnerable communities is a plus. 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 and modeling products.
The Earth Science Branch has a rich history in applications development and transition of unique observations and research capabilities to operational end-users and decision-makers. Based in Huntsville, Alabama, the Earth Science Branch 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.

Responsibilities:
● Engage with stakeholders, end-users, and decision-makers from the wildland fire, prescribed burn, fire weather, and land management communities (USDA-USFS, BLM, NOAA, USGS, etc).
● Support new products through the collection of requirements/feedback from end-users in the wildland fire, prescribed burn, and communities on NASA prototype data/products and effectively communicating those inputs to NASA/UAH research scientists to improve satellite data products.
● Assist in the transition of research products to operational end-users and decision-makers at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels. This will include testing of NASA prototype products for usability and improvement of the user-experience (UX), assisting with the design of web-based interfaces for users to view and interact with NASA prototype data/products, and designing user-centered experiments for testing of data/products.
● Develop appropriate product training, including quick-start guides, product overviews, online training modules, and training videos. Develop case study events for NASA prototype products on fire weather, land surface modeling, and remote sensing to be integrated into technical training.
● Design and execute evidence-based assessments of NASA data/products with users and stakeholders, including both current and future NASA research products.
● Support the FireSense Project Office through the recruitment of new partners and seek out products for transition from research to operations/applications (R2O/R2A).
● Travel to major scientific conferences, meetings, and workshops to present scientific assessment results. Publish scientific papers on the research-to-operations transition of FireSense satellite, airborne, and modeling products.

● Minimum Bachelor of Science, preferably in meteorology, atmospheric science, geosciences, Earth science, or a closely related discipline.
● 45-51 months of full-time verifiable work experience.
● Experience translating and delivering complex scientific content to end-users or the general public.
● Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
● Willingness to work closely with others in a team environment.
● Desire to engage with end-users, both in-person and virtually.
● Desire to participate in science workshops and conferences, publishing results, and producing annual reports.

● Master of Science in meteorology, atmospheric science, geosciences, Earth science, forestry, or a closely related discipline.
● Experience working with operational end-user / decision-maker communities.
● Experience using integrated decision-support/information systems for weather analysis/forecasting or wildland fire/prescribed burn decision-making.

$62,659 - $66,489