Scientist, Wildfire

Program Overview

Science & Innovation (S&I) is the nexus of science at EDF, ensuring that all EDF positions are based on the best available natural and social science. S&I leads EDF’s exploration of emerging issues, pioneers new projects, provides programmatic support for all scientists at EDF and fosters relationships with scientists outside the organization.

Fire is an inherent and necessary part of the Earth system and is intimately tied to human actions. It cannot and should not be eliminated. But as the climate warms, increasing fire activity is highly likely to cause increasing damage to human infrastructure and lives and drive higher greenhouse gas emissions - a positive feedback loop that warms the climate further and may push ecosystems beyond their natural adaptations to fire. There is no single solution; each location will have a different set of constraints and opportunities to balance human health and safety, climate, and ecosystem goals. FireSat is both a source of data and a key component of an integrated science and decision-support system. Together with scientific understanding, FireSat will enable fire adaptation and mitigation activities to achieve social, climatic, and ecological goals as appropriate. 

Overall Function

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) seeks a Scientist, Wildfire to conduct and coordinate original research to establish and implement FireSat as a key component of community, climate, and ecosystem fire management plans. This research will support the development and implementation of FireSat within the global fire community. The Scientist, Wildfire will be responsible for ensuring the program takes advantage of the newest fire science and addresses questions which provide real positive impacts for community health, climate, and ecosystems. The position is located in Science & Innovation (S&I) which is the engine of science at EDF. S&I provides programmatic support for all scientists at EDF and fosters relationships with scientists outside the organization.

The Scientist, Wildfire will work and coordinate with EDF team members and external collaborators to design a data structure and product list for maximal utility, targeted at community health and protection, climate impact quantification and reduction, and ecosystem resilience. In the early stages, this work will align with the FireSat Early Adopter program and the Google AI community, but the program will become global in scope as the satellite network expands. Particular attention will be paid to piloting use cases, refining products, and targeting bottlenecks to maximize real-world impact. This also includes identifying additional scientific data that needs to be developed to utilize FireSat to its full potential.

This work will result in original publishable research, including with external academic collaborators, “in-house” analyses for use by other EDF staff, and other communications aimed at policy makers, journalists, and the public at large. The Scientist, Wildfire will report to the Senior Climate Innovation Scientist.

Term: This is a 2-year fixed term position with full benefits and opportunity for extension.

Location: This position can be located fully remote within the U.S. or hybrid from any EDF U.S. office.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate the conceptualization and design for EDF's research activities on FireSat, proactively engaging stakeholders and ensuring scientific standards are maintained in EDF's fire science, tools, and advocacy.

• Perform original research and process data and geospatial analytics of the FireSat observations to identify opportunities for impact via FireSat.

• Coordinate internal and external scientific teams to identify key products to develop from, or alongside, FireSat to achieve community, climate, and ecosystem goals.

• Collaborate with external scientists from academia, NGOs, governments, and other areas, including the FireSat Early Adopter program and Google AI community.

• Participate in advancing EDF’s organizational effectiveness and culture goals, in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges aligned with EDF values.

• Represent EDF externally by attending and presenting at conferences and external meetings.

• Socialize FireSat to the fire science community attending and representing EDF at external meetings, conferences and workshops, and interact with the scientific community at large.

• Lead and support workshops and working groups of internal and external experts to explore uses of FireSat data for public health and safety, climate and ecological impacts.

• Lead and participate in the preparation of manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals and, where appropriate, reports/fact sheets/blog posts for general audiences on the topic of focus.

• Additional relevant responsibilities assigned as needed.

Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in Remote Sensing, Fire Science, Climate Science, Data Science, or a relevant field with 2 years’ postdoctoral experience.

• Experience in conducting original research and leading the publication of peer-reviewed papers.

• Experience in presenting at scientific conferences.

• Collaboration with fire management organizations (e.g., NIFC) and/or remote sensing agencies (e.g., NASA) is highly preferred.

• Demonstrated self-awareness, cultural competency, inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across all cultures and backgrounds

• Remote sensing and GIS experience.

• Strong quantitative skills with proficiency in R, Python, or similar analysis software.

• Demonstrated excellence in rigorous scientific analyses.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills; ability to synthesize, interpret, and communicate scientific data in writing and orally to multiple stakeholders with different levels of expertise, including the public, industry, and governmental agencies.

• Ability to work independently, using independent judgment to plan, prioritize, and organize a diverse workload in a fast-paced environment.

• Ability and willingness to travel up to 15% of time, domestically and internationally.

Application Instructions

Along with your resume, please submit a cover letter detailing your personal interest in the role and in EDF. Preference will be given to applications with cover letters and will be strongly considered over those who choose to submit only their resume/CV.

We offer a strong total rewards package encompassing competitive salary, robust benefits, and professional development opportunities consistent with a modern global organization. We take into account factors such as candidate experience, skills, training, internal team equity and local norms.

Please note that pay ranges are country specific. As a result, the stated currency is not meant be converted into any other currency.