Graduate Research Scientist intern

Job Description:

AMA is seeking a graduate‑level Research Scientist intern to support cryospheric remote‑sensing research at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), contributing to a feasibility study that integrates multi‑angle polarimetry, radiative transfer modeling, and machine‑learning‑based retrievals to advance instrument concept development for future Earth‑observing missions.

The hourly rate for this position is $27.69-$33.85 determined by level of education and relevant skills and experience. Remote work is an option.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct a feasibility analysis for a passive multi‑angle polarimeter designed to retrieve sea ice albedo and related cryospheric variables.

• Extend the published RTM‑SciML framework (Zhou et al., 2023, 2025) to incorporate polarized radiance and dense angular sampling.

• Produce a synthetic training dataset of top‑of‑atmosphere Stokes vectors using a vector radiative transfer model across representative sea ice surface conditions.

• Train and evaluate ML models to retrieve broadband shortwave albedo and melt pond fraction.

• Quantify retrieval performance across spectral, angular, and polarimetric configurations using held‑out synthetic test data.

• Document trade‑offs between spectral range, angular sampling, and polarimetric capability.

• Deliver recommendations for multi‑angle polarimeter instrument design.

• Prepare clear documentation, written reports, and oral presentations summarizing methods and findings.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Physics, Atmospheric Science, or a related field.

• Strong Python skills, including NumPy and SciPy.

• Experience with a machine learning library such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.

• Ability to work with large multi‑dimensional scientific datasets.

• Experience with radiative transfer modeling; familiarity with vector RT codes such as AccuRT, libRadtran, SCIATRAN, or VLIDORT.

• Ability to work independently and document code and methodology clearly.

• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Desired Qualifications

• Background in atmospheric or cryospheric remote sensing.

• Experience or coursework related to optical instrument design or polarimetry.

• Familiarity with polarimetric measurements and their applications.

• Interest in contributing to a peer‑reviewed publication.

• Enthusiasm for instrument concept development for current and future Earth‑observing missions.

Analytical Mechanics Associates (AMA) is proud of our customer relationships, our diverse and dynamic work environment, and our employees' career satisfaction. AMA is a small business with a wide reach; headquartered in Hampton, VA, AMA has operations in Greenbelt, MD; Huntsville, AL; Dallas and Houston, TX; Denver, CO; Mountain View, CA; and Edwards Air Force Base, CA. With over 60 years of experience, AMA specializes in aerospace engineering, science, analytics, information technology, and visualization solutions. AMA combines the best of engineering, science, and mathematics capabilities with the latest in information technologies, visualization, and multimedia to build creative solutions. We offer competitive salaries and a substantial benefits package, including but not limited to paid personal and federally recognized holiday leave, salary deferrals into a 401(k)-matching plan with immediate vesting, tuition reimbursement, short/long term disability plans, and a variety of medical, dental, and vision insurance options.
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AMA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any applicant for employment or employee because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited under federal, state, or local laws.