Geospatial Data Engineer II

The Geospatial Science and Human Security Division (GSHSD) is currently seeking world-class research and development professionals for the National Security Sciences Directorate within Oak Ridge National Lab. The geospatial data engineer will support the development of next generation data strategies that will support and deploy operational situational awareness products for sponsors across the Federal Government. We're looking for staff who bring fresh ideas from areas including information retrieval, distributed computing and storage, and data processing workflows. We need our staff to be flexible and be enthusiastic to take on problems across the organization as we continue to solve complex global scale problems in the areas associated with spatial computing.

The Geospatial Data Engineer will focus on the implementation of scalable data storage and processing solutions for high-volume and high-velocity data applications. The proposed solutions will include distributed computing that can be applicable for several geospatially focused research and development projects in the domains of energy, transportation, and other cross-disciplinary geospatial applications. The geospatial data engineer works with research scientists across the lab with the primary goal of researching and developing cutting edge solutions to complex problems posed by sponsors including DoD and DOE leveraging the lab's world-class resources.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• R&D: assist in conducting research and development to support project-specific applications.
• Data Development: working alongside researchers to develop and deploy geospatial data storage and processing solutions.
• Requirements Decomposition: working alongside researchers and project sponsors to capture, understand, integrate, and implement project requirements in developed system architectures and software.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: collaborating with a highly diverse and multidisciplinary team - from photogrammetrists, geographers, mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, and engineers - in research, development, integration, testing, and deployment.

• Requires an B.S. or M.S. in the field of Geography, Data Science, Computer Science, or related fields with a minimum of 2 years of relevant experience
• Experience withprogramming languages such as SQL, Python
• Experience with Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate in English to a scientific audience
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to changing needs
• Demonstrated ability to present technical results to technical communities.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a strong commitment to a team environment, * Experience with Docker, Kubernetes,or similar container platforms/concepts.
• Experience with s3, parquet, Duckdb, zarr and related software and technologies is a plus
• At least 2 years of experience working with geospatial data and processing workflows and assessing data sources for fit-for-purpose.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative and frequently interacting teams of researchers.
• Experience with software and data governance best practices including, but not limited to: Agile development; version control using Git/GitFlow or similar system; data retention life-cycles, and project management via systems like JIRA, Asana, etc.
• Utilize open-source and commercial tools and approaches to solve complex problems including information retrieval/extraction, machine learning/deep learning, and networking

Special Requirements:

• Export control, no clearance: This position requires access to technology that is subject to export control requirements. Successful candidates must be qualified for such access without an export control license.

For employment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a Real ID compliant form of identification will be required. Additionally, ORNL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 473.1A, which requires a favorable post-employment background investigation. To obtain this credential, new employees must successfully complete and pass a Federal Tier 1 background check investigation. This investigation includes a declaration of illegal drug activities, including use, supply, possession, or manufacture within the last year. This includes marijuana and cannabis derivatives, which are still considered illegal under federal law, regardless of state laws.