Remote Sensing Scientist (Mid-Level)

Description:

Shannon & Wilson is an employee-owned consulting firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. We deliver innovative solutions for public and private clients, often on high-profile transportation and water resources infrastructure projects. Committed to technical excellence and high-quality service, we provide integrated geotechnical engineering, engineering geology, environmental and natural resource services for clients worldwide. Since 1954, we have delivered comprehensive engineering and environmental solutions for challenging infrastructure planning, design, permitting and construction conditions.

We are looking for a technically capable scientist to lead the expansion of our remote sensing capabilities, focusing on geological hazard identification and monitoring. These capabilities will complement our existing geotechnical, geological, and environmental services and increase our impact on critical projects.

Position Overview

The Senior Remote Sensing Scientist will lead the development and delivery of remote sensing services, with a primary focus on InSAR time series analysis and a secondary focus on LiDAR change detection. This senior-level role will also help develop our remote sensing business line by educating project managers to identify service opportunities and promoting our capabilities to existing and prospective clients. This role would serve as an internal expert, collaborating with our geotechnical engineers, geologists, environmental scientists, GIS specialists, and software engineers to perform remote sensing analyses. This role would also include mentoring junior staff to further develop remote sensing capabilities. The position will be based in our Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Denver, Colorado; or Concord, California office, with an in-person or hybrid work model (at least 3 days in-office, 2 days remote). Occasional travel for fieldwork, conferences, and business development opportunities would be required.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct advanced remote sensing analyses, specializing in InSAR time series analysis to monitor geological hazards such as landslides, subsidence, and erosion, with a secondary focus on LiDAR change detection for similar applications.
• Serve as the companywide remote sensing expert, training and mentoring Project Managers (PMs), geological and geotechnical engineering technical staff, and marketing staff on capabilities and applications of remote sensing.
• Lead growth of our remote sensing services by presenting at conferences, engaging with clients, and partnering with internal teams to expand service offerings.
• Produce deliverables including technical reports, maps, data visualizations, code, and calculation packets to communicate findings to clients and internal teams.
• Collaborate with current clients and project managers to assess the feasibility of implementing InSAR or other remote sensing methodologies and identify opportunities to integrate services into proposals for existing and new clients.
• Develop and optimize workflows using available software (e.g., Python, QGIS, ArcGIS Pro) and public datasets (e.g. Sentinel-1, USGS 3DEP lidar). Determine when specialized commercial software or imagery is required for project needs.
• Perform occasional fieldwork, including geologic reconnaissance, mapping, or site investigations, which may require overnight travel within the U.S.
• Stay informed on advancements in earth observation missions (e.g., Sentinel-1, NISAR) and remote sensing technologies to enhance service delivery.

Location and Work Environment

This position is based in our Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Denver, Colorado; or Concord, California office with an in-person or hybrid work model requiring at least 3 days in-office and 2 days remote. Occasional travel for fieldwork, client meetings, business development, or conferences is required.

Why Join S&W? Join a dynamic, interdisciplinary team at S&W, where you’ll lead the development of a cutting-edge remote sensing service line. Work on high-profile infrastructure and environmental projects, collaborate with top geo-professionals, and make a tangible impact on client solutions. S&W offers opportunities for professional growth, a supportive work environment, and the chance to shape innovative geospatial services.

Requirements:

Technical Skills

• PhD in remote sensing, geospatial sciences, geotechnical/geological engineering, geology, earth sciences, or a related field preferred OR a master’s degree required
• 6 to 14 years of direct experience in areas noted above.
• Advanced expertise in InSAR processing and time series analysis to identify and quantify ground surface movement extent, magnitude, and rates.
• Experience or working knowledge of LiDAR change detection for geological hazard monitoring and subsidence characterization.
• Experience using other remote sensing imagery (hyperspectral, thermal, soil moisture) and data collection (drone, terrestrial lidar) for engineering, geological, and environmental applications a plus.
• Experience with Python for geospatial data processing, analysis, and visualization.
• Strong skills with geospatial tools for data integration and map production, including open-source GIS/QGIS and/or ArcGIS Pro.
• Experience with software engineering workflows for collaborative, distributed computing (e.g., GitHub) or willingness to learn them.
• Up-to-date familiarity with current and forthcoming earth observation missions and their applications for providing marketable services to existing SW clients in geotechnical and environmental contexts.
• Ability to evaluate when open-source tools and public datasets will provide sufficient value for clients versus when commercial software or imagery is needed.
• Background in geotechnical/geological engineering, geology, or earth sciences, with an understanding of geological processes and hazards is required. Knowledge of geophysical methods and applications is a plus.

Soft Skills

• Proactive, adaptable, and comfortable working in ambiguous environments to develop a service line.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with enthusiasm for educating internal teams and clients on remote sensing applications and opportunities.
• Ability to confidently serve as the organization’s leading remote sensing expert, representing S&W at conferences and client meetings.
• Collaborative mindset, comfortable working across disciplines with geotechnical engineers, geologists, environmental scientists, GIS specialists, and software engineers.
• Entrepreneurial spirit to identify and competitively pursue remote sensing opportunities for service line growth.

Level Placement

Typically, depending on an applicant’s education, experience, other qualifications they possess, if they are a fit for the company and local office culture, and the current business needs, a Mid-Level Remote Sensing Scientist typically would be placed at a Shannon & Wilson Senior Professional I, II, or III, level.

Shannon & Wilson offers a competitive benefits package to support our employees. These benefits include:

• Employee ownership
• Comprehensive medical, prescription, vision, and dental coverage.
• Pre-tax health and daycare FSA
• Life and disability insurance
• Long-term care insurance
• Profit sharing and 401(k) plans
• Paid time off for vacation and sick leave
• 10 paid holidays
• Paid volunteer day
• Free parking

Shannon & Wilson is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Shannon & Wilson participates in the E-Verify program.

Please note that non-solicited resumes from external recruitment agencies will not be considered as introductions to our business, unless a preapproved agreement is in place and the external recruitment agency has been engaged to work on this specific vacancy.