Research Assistant job opportunity at BAERI/NASA Ames – review begins 4/30/2026 by Carl Norlen (23 Apr 2026 17:26 EDT)
The Bay Area Environmental Research (BAER, https://baeri.org/) Institute, a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization focused on enabling and conducting research in Earth and space
science, is seeking a Research Assistant for the NASA Ames Earth Science Division
(https://www.nasa.gov/earth-
Ecosystem Resilience, and Risk Assessment Initiative (WERK) that aims to develop
ecosystem monitoring data products and assessments to support California state
partners’ urgent needs in protecting public safety and natural resources from catastrophic
wildfires and growing environmental variability. Specifically, the research assistant will
support the aboveground biomass and fuel mapping tasks. Ideal candidates will have
experience with vegetation plot monitoring datasets, geospatial data management,
remote sensing, and statistical analysis. The position is based at NASA’s Ames Research
Center (ARC) in Moffett Field, CA, with an initial duration of 1 year and the possibility of
extension. The scientist is expected to work on-site at least two days per week.Alternative
arrangements may be considered where appropriate. The anticipated start date is
Summer 2026.
nonprofit organization focused on enabling and conducting research in Earth and space
science, is seeking a Research Assistant for the NASA Ames Earth Science Division
(https://www.nasa.gov/earth-
Ecosystem Resilience, and Risk Assessment Initiative (WERK) that aims to develop
ecosystem monitoring data products and assessments to support California state
partners’ urgent needs in protecting public safety and natural resources from catastrophic
wildfires and growing environmental variability. Specifically, the research assistant will
support the aboveground biomass and fuel mapping tasks. Ideal candidates will have
experience with vegetation plot monitoring datasets, geospatial data management,
remote sensing, and statistical analysis. The position is based at NASA’s Ames Research
Center (ARC) in Moffett Field, CA, with an initial duration of 1 year and the possibility of
extension. The scientist is expected to work on-site at least two days per week.Alternative
arrangements may be considered where appropriate. The anticipated start date is
Summer 2026.
Essential Job Duties:
– Assist in the development and harmonization of forest plot datasets across
California;
– Work with the project team on data compilation, data cleaning, remote sensing
algorithm applications, processing pipeline development and delivery;
– Develop documentation and training materials to allow team members and
partners to successfully operate the data processing pipeline;
– Contribute to research manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals;
– Present research findings at conferences and public forums;
– Contribute to the research community in Ames Earth Science division and beyond;
Minimum/ Required Qualifications
– Master’s Degree (or Bachelor’s degree with more than 3-years of experience in
this field) in forest ecology, geography, remote sensing, or a relevant
multidisciplinary degree.
– Experience collecting and/or working with forest plot monitoring datasets (e.g.,
stem maps, species, size, biomass)
– Proficient in Python or R programming languages for data management and
statistical analysis.
– Experience with data processing and mapping with Geographic Information
Systems (GIS), preferably QGIS
– Demonstrated experience in planning, designing, executing, and coordinating
research;
– Experience developing and maintaining appropriate documentation and training
materials to allow team members and customers of various backgrounds and
disciplines to successfully operate;
– Strong communication skills that allows for working effectively as a member of a
research team;
– Assist in the development and harmonization of forest plot datasets across
California;
– Work with the project team on data compilation, data cleaning, remote sensing
algorithm applications, processing pipeline development and delivery;
– Develop documentation and training materials to allow team members and
partners to successfully operate the data processing pipeline;
– Contribute to research manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals;
– Present research findings at conferences and public forums;
– Contribute to the research community in Ames Earth Science division and beyond;
Minimum/ Required Qualifications
– Master’s Degree (or Bachelor’s degree with more than 3-years of experience in
this field) in forest ecology, geography, remote sensing, or a relevant
multidisciplinary degree.
– Experience collecting and/or working with forest plot monitoring datasets (e.g.,
stem maps, species, size, biomass)
– Proficient in Python or R programming languages for data management and
statistical analysis.
– Experience with data processing and mapping with Geographic Information
Systems (GIS), preferably QGIS
– Demonstrated experience in planning, designing, executing, and coordinating
research;
– Experience developing and maintaining appropriate documentation and training
materials to allow team members and customers of various backgrounds and
disciplines to successfully operate;
– Strong communication skills that allows for working effectively as a member of a
research team;
Preferred Qualifications:
– Experience with tree allometry and biomass quantification;
– Demonstrated contribution to scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals;
– Experience manipulating airborne lidar data;
– Previous research with machine learning, image processing, feature extraction;
– Familiarity with handling large and various data types including optical satellite and
airborne data;
– Knowledge and experience with quantitative approaches in terrestrial ecosystem
& land system science;
– Familiarity with high performance computing (HPC) environments;
– Experience on deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, Keras or TensorFlow
is highly desired;
– Experience with tree allometry and biomass quantification;
– Demonstrated contribution to scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals;
– Experience manipulating airborne lidar data;
– Previous research with machine learning, image processing, feature extraction;
– Familiarity with handling large and various data types including optical satellite and
airborne data;
– Knowledge and experience with quantitative approaches in terrestrial ecosystem
& land system science;
– Familiarity with high performance computing (HPC) environments;
– Experience on deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, Keras or TensorFlow
is highly desired;
Salary range:
– $65K-70K / year
– $65K-70K / year
To be considered for this position:
– Please submit a cover letter (usually one to two pages) to ‘werk@baeri.org’ with
subject line “WERK Hire Research Assistant: your name” stating the applicant’s
interest in the project, prior research experience and/or projects of particular
relevance, areas of interest, key competencies, and anticipated date of availability.
Include also a full CV and the names of three references. All qualified applicants
will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected
veteran status. Review of applications will begin on April 30th, 2026, and continue
until the position is filled.
– Please submit a cover letter (usually one to two pages) to ‘werk@baeri.org’ with
subject line “WERK Hire Research Assistant: your name” stating the applicant’s
interest in the project, prior research experience and/or projects of particular
relevance, areas of interest, key competencies, and anticipated date of availability.
Include also a full CV and the names of three references. All qualified applicants
will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected
veteran status. Review of applications will begin on April 30th, 2026, and continue
until the position is filled.