| Job Description Summary | MTRI (www.mtri.org) is seeking a highly motivated, intellectually curious professional interested in conducting cutting-edge research in applying active and passive remote sensing techniques to monitor water quality in inland, coastal, and marine systems. Individuals will be developing an externally supported research portfolio while supporting multiple projects for government and commercial customers. This position requires collaboration with senior engineers and scientists to research, design, and evaluate algorithms for various signal- and image-processing applications as well as design instrumentation for deployment in the natural and built environment. A successful candidate will have a solid background in natural sciences, materials science, and image processing. In addition, an ideal candidate would have prior experience writing scientific software, generating refereed journal article material, proposal writing experience, and knowledge in collecting aquatic field data. |
| Essential Duties & Responsibilities (other duties may be assigned) | 1. Participate as an integral team member on multi-disciplinary research relating to applying technical skills to solve governmental and societal needs.
2. Provide technical, analytical, and numerical support for ongoing research and development projects in ocean color remote sensing, water quality monitoring, and image processing.
3. Derive, implement, and evaluate data-processing algorithms.
4. Contribute technical expertise to symposia, journal articles, and technical reports.
5. Prepare and deliver reports or presentations of research projects/analysis results to project sponsors as appropriate.
6. Contribute to the generation of proposals and external funding.
7. Apply safety-related knowledge, skills, and practices to everyday work. |
| Required Education, Certifications, Licensures (minimum requirements) | - Ph.D. (at time of onboarding) in materials science and engineering, and one year related research experience either as part of degree program or post-degree.
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| Required Experience (minimum requirements) | • Experience in two or more of the following: (i) active remote sensing of aquatic environments, (ii) ocean color remote sensing, (iii) aquatic in situ data collection and analysis, and (iv) signal processing using advanced mathematical concepts.
• Experience in development and analysis of LiDAR data to study subsurface aquatic environments.
• Experience with the systematic evaluation of signal/data processing algorithms.
• Experience in using statistical analysis/signal processing for water quality monitoring applications.
• Experience evaluating the performance of algorithms on simulated and/or measured datasets.
• Experience contributing to new proposals to seek external funding.
• Demonstrated ability to collect field data. |
| Desirable Education and/or Experience | • Experience in remote sensing applications of arctic environments.
• Experience with the design and building of novel instrumentation for calibration and validation of aquatic remote sensing algorithms.
• Experience leading new proposals to seek external funding. |
| Required Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities (minimum requirements) | • Ability to obtain a Department of Defense security clearance, which requires United States citizenship without dual citizenship
• Ability to apply estimation and/or information theory theoretical results to problems in natural environments.
• Excellent interpersonal, oral/written, and presentation communication skills.
• Ability to take direction but work without continuous oversight.
• Ability to exercise discretion and sound judgment with respect to significant matters related to job duties.
• Demonstrated commitment to contribute to a safe work environment. • Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries and work harmoniously with diverse groups of students, faculty, and staff. |
| Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities | • Implementing mathematical algorithms in prototype software, such as MATLAB, Python, R, or equivalent.
• Skills with modeling and simulation tools, including MATLAB.
• Ability to design and test above and below water optical instrumentation.
• Ability to participate in team projects. |
| Language, Mathematics and/or Reasoning Skills | |
| Work Environment and/or Physical Demands | |
| Required Training and Other Conditions of Employment | Every employee at Michigan Technological University will receive the following 4 required trainings; additional training may be required by the department. Required University Training: -
Employee Safety Overview -
Anti-Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation Training -
Annual Data Security Training - Annual Title IX Training
Background Check: Offers of employment are contingent upon and not considered finalized until the required background check has been performed and the results received and assessed. Other Conditions of Employment: The successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring eligibility for employment in the United States on or before the effective date of the appointment. Visa sponsorship is unavailable at this time. This is not an E-Verified Position. Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities |
| Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) % (1=100%) | 1.0 |
| FLSA Status | Exempt |
| Pay Rate/Salary | Negotiable, Based on Experience |
| Title of Position Supervisor | Senior Research Engineer/Scientist |
| Posting Type | Internal & External |
| Dependent on Funding | Yes |
| Special Instructions to Applicants (if applicable) | |
| Additional Information | - Supervision will be exercised over student interns on a project-by-project basis
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