Imagery Scientist (SAR) - Expert

What Impact You'll Have

GRVTY is seeking a motivated and experienced Imagery Scientist to serve as the subject matter expert on SAR imagery and provide technical direction across the full imagery acquisition and preparation lifecycle. The ideal candidate is an experienced SAR imagery scientist with a passion for advanced scientific problem solving, imagery exploitation, and operational intelligence support. This role will drive solutions informed by specific phenomenology limitations and advantages of sensors and platforms.

What You'll be Owning

Integrate emerging sensors and platforms into existing data pipelines and workflows, including:

Develop pipelines and relevant data structures for emerging capabilities

Conduct assessment of potential differences between new sensor characteristics and capabilities compared to currently utilized platforms

Assess potential differences in metadata, data format, and data structure characteristics in regard to changes to:

Databases and schemas

APIs and other ETL-related processes

Ingestion and movement of data within the existing data operations pipeline

Determine how to acquire new data, including:

Potential latency associated with acquisition

Data formats and security domains

Determine how to pre-process and standardize data to match existing standards or be transformed into a usable state for labeling and model development purposes, including:

Converting between file format types

Tiling full-size images into specified sizes or geospatial bounds

Investigate gaps in emerging sensor capabilities that may require supplementation from other sources

Explore options for coincident imagery collects from other imagery platforms to:

Identify EO or other platforms with aligned geographic and temporal coverage

Determine platforms with similar collection window to emerging data types

Develop and implement mathematical conversion models to:

Transform data labels across multiple imagery types (e.g., phase history data to complex image and magnitude detected image)

Develop methods to execute tiling and pre-processing of full-size raw imagery into specified sizes and data formats while maintaining metadata and data integrity

Generate tiles from full-size image collects with specified, precise geospatial boundaries, accounting for orthorectification to ensure geospatial accuracy at tile edges

What You Must Have

Active TS/SCI Clearance with the ability to obtain a CI/Poly

4+ years as a SAR expert with understanding of:

Collection and phenomenology

Image formation processes

Exploitation products and methodologies

Hands-on experience with SAR data processing tools and libraries including:

SARPy

MATLAB SAR Toolbox

Demonstrated experience with imagery quality metrics, including:

RNIIRS and information theoretic-based image quality metrics

SAR-specific metrics such as Integrated Sidelobe Ratio (ISLR) and Multiplicative Noise Ratio (MNR)

Sensor metadata describing geometry impacts on phenomenology (e.g., graze, squint, azimuth)

Experience exploiting SAR imagery to determine the occurrence and location of objects of interest

Experience developing, testing, and evaluating:

New algorithms, processes, methodologies, and exploitation products

Automated scientific workflows using advanced processing tools including:

Python

MATLAB

Google Earth Engine

Deep understanding of:

Remote Sensing Principles

Advanced imagery processing and exploitation methods

Sensor and platform limitations and advantages

Proven ability to communicate technical concepts to:

Technical audiences

Non-technical stakeholders

Intelligence users

What Would be Nice to Have

Experience applying CV and machine learning (ML) techniques to SAR imagery and data to address intelligence problems

Pay Range: At GRVTY, we understand that compensation is influenced by many factors—such as geographic location, federal contract labor categories, wage rates, prior experience, skillsets, education, and certifications.

We’re proud to offer a work environment that empowers our team to achieve a strong work-life balance. GRVTY provides competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and meaningful opportunities for professional growth.

Our benefits package is designed to support the well-being of our employees and their families, and includes coverage in areas such as healthcare, financial wellness, retirement planning, family assistance, continued education, and paid time off.

Virginia Pay Range

$180,000 $210,000 USD

Why Choose GRVTY

The toughest national security challenges demand vision and ingenuity, not just resources. We deliver mission and technical expertise to outpace our adversaries. We’re purpose-built to tackle the most entrenched, systemic national security issues around the world.

We partner with our customers to help them overcome challenges in every corner of technology and defense—including the ones still being explored. Our growing capabilities create complementary advantages, givin…