SAR Data Scientist/Imagery Scientist

Job Title: SAR Data Scientist/Imagery Scientist
Job Location: Falls Church, VA or St. Louis, MO
Compensation: $170,000 - $190,000
Eligibility/Clearance: Candidate must possess an active TS/SCI clearance
and be willing to obtain a CI Polygraph
Job Description:
We are seeking an experienced SAR Data Scientist/Imagery Scientist to
join a high-performing team supporting advanced AI and machine learning
initiatives for complex national security and intelligence missions.
This program focuses on evaluating AI models against Government datasets
to assess their performance, resilience, and robustness across a broad
spectrum of adversarial scenarios. The effort also includes testing and
validating autonomous algorithms designed to support operational
decision-making in dynamic mission environments.
As a SAR Exploitation/Imagery Scientist, you will provide subject matter
expertise in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, geospatial
analysis, and quantitative assessment to support data curation, imagery
exploitation, and dataset development for machine learning model testing
and evaluation. You will collaborate with engineers, data scientists,
and mission analysts to ensure imagery products are prepared,
standardized, and optimized for AI/ML applications.
Role Overview
- Support the Lead SAR Scientist in evaluating emerging sensor
capabilities and comparing new collection platforms with existing
operational systems.
- Assess the impact of new sensor data on existing data architectures,
including metadata, file formats, schemas, APIs, and ETL processes
required to ingest and integrate data into operational pipelines.
- Evaluate data acquisition strategies, expected collection latency,
available data formats, and applicable security domains for new
sensor sources.
- Develop preprocessing and standardization workflows to prepare
imagery for labeling, analytics, and AI/ML model testing. This may
include file format conversion, image tiling, geospatial
normalization, and other data preparation activities to ensure
compatibility with established data standards.
Key Responsibilities
N/A
Requirements:
- Active TS/SCI clearance with eligibility for CI Polygraph (we can
sponsor your CI poly if you don't already have one)
- 4+ years of experience working with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
imagery, including collection methodologies, radar phenomenology,
image formation, and exploitation products.
- Experience evaluating SAR imagery quality metrics and interpreting
sensor metadata, including the effects of collection geometry (e.g.,
graze angle, squint angle, azimuth) on SAR phenomenology.
- Demonstrated experience exploiting SAR imagery to detect, identify,
and geolocate objects of interest.
- Strong understanding of remote sensing principles, imagery
processing, and advanced SAR exploitation techniques.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to effectively
present SAR methodologies, imagery products, and analytical findings
to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Preferred:
- Experience applying computer vision (CV), machine learning (ML), or
deep learning techniques to SAR imagery and geospatial data to
support intelligence, defense, or remote sensing applications.
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Engineering,
Cybersecurity, or related technical field (or equivalent
experience).
ATR is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) who will provide equal
employment opportunity to employees and applicants for employment
without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, color, sex, pregnancy,
national origin, age, veteran status, ancestry, sexual orientation,
gender identity or expression, marital status, family structure, genetic
information, or mental or physical disability