Postdoctoral Scholar: Remote Sensing of Wildfire Impacts

Postdoctoral Scholar: Remote Sensing to FATES: Wildfire Impacts on Western U.S. Forests - University of California, Irvine Location: Irvine, California Position Type: Postdoctoral Scholar, Full-time Department: Earth System Science Salary: $69,073 - $82,836 per year (scaling with experience), with generous benefits The Rigden Lab in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine seeks a Postdoctoral Scholar to lead an integrated remote sensing-modeling investigation of wildfire impacts and forest recovery across California, Oregon, and Washington. Funded by NASA GEDI, this project will leverage spaceborne lidar, multispectral and thermal satellite observations, and the ELM-FATES-SPITFIRE modeling framework to understand how forest structure influences burn severity, evaluate post-fire recovery trajectories, and identify fire-return thresholds that shape long-term ecosystem resilience. Key Responsibilities: - Lead remote sensing analysis of wildfire impacts using satellite data - Work with spaceborne lidar (GEDI), thermal (ECOSTRESS), and optical (Landsat/MODIS/VIIRS) satellite observations - Integrate remote sensing observations with land surface models - Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals - Collaborate with interdisciplinary team Required Qualifications: - An expected or recent Ph.D. in Earth System Science, Remote Sensing, Forestry, Ecology, Atmospheric/Environmental Science, or a related field - Demonstrated expertise in satellite remote sensing (at least two of: lidar/GEDI, thermal/ECOSTRESS, optical Landsat/MODIS/VIIRS) - Skills in Python or R for geospatial analysis Skills: Remote sensing, lidar, GEDI, ECOSTRESS, Landsat, MODIS, Python, R, geospatial analysis, wildfire ecology, forest ecology