Research Associate I, Step 2

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Department: Earth System Science Center

Work type: Staff Hourly On-Call Non-Exempt

Location: Alabama

Categories: Research - Environmental

Purpose Of The Position The selected on-call Research Associate candidate will support the Office of Data Science and Informatics (ODSI) within the Lab for Applied Science (LAS) under the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) at UAH. The NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program acquires, evaluates, catalogs, and archives commercial satellite data assets to be discoverable alongside NASA mission data. The Data Management (DM) Team is responsible for acquiring, managing, and distributing data procured through the program.

This position will provide additional operational support for the NASA CSDA DM Operations & Informatics Team(Ops), focusing mainly on off-hours (weekends, holidays, and other than 9 am-5 pm M-F) CSDA rapid and low-latency tasking requests. When not responding to urgent requests, this position will provide basic Ops support as well. The position will be flexible with a minimum of 10 hours/week and not exceeding 20 hours/week.

ODSI evaluates trends across data science and informatics communities to inform strategic direction and develop effective, scalable solutions. The office also provides a user-centered perspective on how Earth science data are represented, communicated, and utilized. The position contributes to cross-disciplinary collaboration aimed at improving all phases of the Earth science data lifecycle, including policy, engineering, workflows, and information delivery.

Duties / Responsibilities

• Serve as off-hours point of contact (PoC) to submit data requests on behalf of the NASA CSDA program, supporting urgent requests for real-world events (i.e., disaster response).
• Task commercial satellite datasets through various web-based applications.
• Document any data requests made while deployed.
• Provide basic operational support, including user authorization and standard data requests for CSDA Satellite Tasking and Archive Request System (STARS).
• Other operational duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Earth Science, Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science, IT, engineering, or a related field; OR currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Earth Science, Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science, IT, engineering, or a related field, with a combination of education and work experience; OR an equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• Minimum 3 months of full-time, verifiable work experience.
• Must be open to contact after normal business hours, including weekends, for deployment.
• Basic familiarity with satellite remote sensing datasets and terminology.

Desired Qualifications

• Solid understanding of satellite remote sensing systems, including commercial providers, is desired.
• Basic understanding of any cloud computing service (preferably Amazon Web Services) is desired.

Published Salary (if Available) $23.28 - $24.88 an Hour

Advertised: Sep 08 2026 Central Daylight Time

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