Geo Owl · SDVOSB · Est. 2013

Imagery Scientist (SAR)

NGA MAVEN PROGRAM · SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR · GEOINT · EXPERT · KEY POSITION

Synthetic aperture radar sees through cloud cover, darkness, and camouflage — and making that capability useful for AI/ML model development takes a scientist who understands the physics, the phenomenology, and the pipeline. As the SAR Imagery Scientist on NGA Maven, you are the subject matter expert who ensures the right SAR data is identified, acquired, pre-processed, and delivered to support machine learning that matters to national security.

Role Overview

The Imagery Scientist is the subject matter expert on synthetic aperture radar. You'll provide technical direction and conduct the work necessary to acquire and prepare SAR imagery of the quality, standards, and requirements the Government specifies — with solutions informed by the specific phenomenology limitations and advantages of each sensor and platform. You'll integrate emerging SAR sensors into Maven pipelines, develop pre-processing and tiling workflows, generate pre-labels, and provide geospatial and imagery expertise to improve data curation in support of ML algorithm training and evaluation.

Source-Derived Role Summary

The Imagery Scientist is the subject matter expert on their respective imagery modality (e.g., Synthetic Aperture Radar). They shall provide technical direction and conduct the work necessary to acquire and prepare imagery of the necessary quality, standards, and requirements provided by the Government. Developed solutions should be informed by specific phenomenology limitations and advantages of the sensors and platforms in mind.

A Day in the Life

✓Assess emerging SAR sensors: evaluate differences in collection characteristics, metadata, data formats, and phenomenology compared to currently utilized platforms; recommend ETL adaptations for schema and API changes
✓Execute daily SAR imagery curation: assess image quality using RNIIRS and SAR-specific metrics, prioritize acquisitions per government direction, convert files to required formats (specified SAR imagery formats)
✓Tile full-size SAR imagery to specified pixel dimensions or geospatial bounds; develop and implement mathematical conversion models to transform labels across imagery types (PNG to standard SAR imagery formats) and between orthorectified and non-orthorectified imagery
✓Generate pre-labels from intelligence reporting, machine-derived observations, and human observations — conforming to defined ontology standards to tip and cue human labelers to objects of interest
✓Identify and provide EO imagery coincident with SAR deliveries within specified geographic and temporal ranges; explore options for coincident collects across platforms
✓Oversee weekly deliveries of processed imagery (high-volume curated imagery deliverables on a regular delivery cadence); execute ad-hoc quick-turn deliveries as operational needs arise

Why This Role Matters

Mission Impact

The SAR data you curate, tile, and pre-label becomes training material for NGA Maven's AI/ML models. The precision of your science — how well the imagery reflects the phenomenology the model needs to learn — directly determines how those models perform against real-world targets.

Geo Owl Impact

As a Key Position, your SAR expertise anchors Geo Owl's technical depth on Maven and distinguishes our ability to deliver across both EO and SAR modalities — a capability that directly drives program performance.

Your Growth

You'll work at the cutting edge of applied SAR science — integrating pre-IOC sensors, developing novel preprocessing pipelines, and expanding expertise into computer vision and ML data workflows in a high-consequence operational environment.

Core Responsibilities

▸Integrate emerging SAR sensors and platforms into existing Maven data pipelines; assess metadata, format, and schema differences and adapt ETL processes accordingly
▸Develop and implement mathematical conversion models to transform data labels across imagery types (PNG to standard SAR imagery formats) and between orthorectified and non-orthorectified imagery
▸Execute tiling and preprocessing of full-size raw SAR imagery to specified formats and geospatial dimensions while maintaining metadata integrity and data quality standards
▸Analyze and assess SAR image quality and sensor metadata to curate acquisitions in alignment with government-directed priorities
▸Generate pre-labels from intelligence reporting, machine- and human-derived observations; provide coincident EO imagery within specified geographic and temporal ranges
▸Identify and implement curation methods — including NLP-based intelligence extraction and automated machine techniques — to maximize high-value imagery yield
▸Monitor and prioritize data holdings to support data diversity needs (geographic regions, temporal windows, metadata and scene characteristics, sensor platforms)
▸Develop, test, and evaluate new SAR algorithms, methodologies, and products using advanced processing tools and cloud-based solutions

Required Qualifications

✓Active TS/SCI clearance
✓Minimum 18 experience points required (see experience point calculation below)
✓4+ years as a SAR expert with deep understanding of collection, phenomenology, image formation process, and exploitation products
✓Experience using SARPy and MATLAB SAR toolbox
✓Experience with RNIIRS, information theoretic-based image quality metrics, SAR imagery quality metrics (Integrated Sidelobe Ratio, Multiplicative Noise Ratio), and sensor metadata describing geometry impacts on phenomenology (graze, squint, azimuth)
✓Experience exploiting SAR to determine the occurrence and location of objects of interest
✓Experience developing, testing, and evaluating algorithms and processes using SAR imagery; proficiency with Python, MATLAB, Google Earth Engine, or similar advanced processing tools
✓Experience communicating SAR capabilities, methodologies, and products to both technical and non-technical audiences
✓Deep understanding of remote sensing principles, imagery processing, and advanced exploitation methods

Preferred Qualifications

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

Experience Point Requirement

This is a Expert-level (Level 5) position requiring a minimum of 18 experience points. Points are calculated as follows:

Education: Associate's = 2 pts · Bachelor's = 3 pts · Master's = +2 pts · PhD = +3 pts
Professional / Military Experience: 1 pt per year of relevant experience
Certifications: 0.5 pts each
Specialized Training: 0.25 pts per relevant course
Professional Impact (publications, presentations, patents): up to 3 pts total

Tools, Technologies & Tradecraft

SARPy MATLAB SAR Toolbox Python Google Earth Engine SAR Phenomenology RNIIRS SAR Imagery Quality Metrics Standard SAR Formats ETL Pipelines NLP-based Curation Computer Vision [Preferred] ML Techniques [Preferred]

What Makes Someone Successful in This Role

▸You think in SAR phenomenology — graze angle, squint, azimuth resolution, and multiplicative noise are variables you reason with, not terms you look up
▸You can move from scientific analysis to code — writing Python to automate tiling, validate metadata, and build preprocessing workflows is a normal part of your day
▸You're rigorous about data integrity — you understand that a mis-labeled tile or bad geospatial bound corrupts downstream model training, and you build pipelines that prevent it
▸You adapt quickly when an unfamiliar sensor arrives with incomplete documentation — you assess, hypothesize, test, and integrate
▸You communicate your science clearly — whether briefing a program manager or writing documentation another scientist can actually use

Is This Role For You?

✔ Great Fit

You are an experienced SAR imagery scientist energized by working at the boundary of remote sensing and machine learning. You want your expertise to directly shape AI/ML training data quality on a consequential national security program — and you're comfortable owning that work technically from day one.

✘ May Not Be For You

This may not be the right fit if you prefer purely analytical or finished intelligence work without hands-on pipeline and preprocessing responsibilities, or if SAR sensor phenomenology is not your primary area of expertise.

Career Growth & Professional Value

This role builds deep expertise at the intersection of SAR science, AI/ML data engineering, and national security GEOINT. You'll gain hands-on experience integrating emerging sensors in pre-IOC environments, developing production-grade preprocessing pipelines, and contributing to a program that advances the state of the art in overhead imagery exploitation. The combination of SAR scientific depth and applied pipeline engineering is rare — and highly valued across the intelligence and defense community.