Staff Careers

The Research Associate informatics specialist will work to generate, improve, care for and document science data in order to enable the use of NASA’s science data. The informatics specialist works with scientists, data stewards and policymakers to understand use cases and to develop consensus around key scientific data management processes.

This work is for the Inter-Agency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team (IMPACT) within the Lab for Applied Science (LAS) under the Earth Systems Science Center.

NASA's IMPACT Project Office monitors trends and progressions across the informatics, data science, and information technology communities in order to inform strategy and develop effective solutions for Earth science data management and dissemination. Additionally, the IMPACT Project Office provides abroad user perspective as to how NASA Earth science data and information are represented and communicated. The IMPACT project fosters cross-community collaborations in order to improve all phases of the Earth science data life cycle, including processes, policies, engineering, and information communication

Duties/Responsibilities
• Perform research, and collaborate with various stakeholders to define and implement data management strategies, policies, and governance frameworks.
• Establish and monitor data standards, naming conventions, and data classification frameworks.
• Conduct data curation assessments to understand the quality, completeness, and accuracy of data assets.
• Identify, report, analyze, and resolve data issues related to uniqueness, integrity, accuracy, consistency, and completeness.
• Support the development of data governance training programs to increase data literacy and educate stakeholders on data management practices.
• Participate in the development of scientific data management policies, standards and best practices

• Bachelor's degree in Remote Sensing, Data Science, Information Science, or Earth and Space Science such as astrophysics, heliophysics, Earth science, planetary science, or a related field
• 9-12 months of full-time verifiable work experience
• Passion for making it easier for the scientific community to use NASA’s science data to enable scientific discovery, exploration and innovation
• Experience working with and caring for Earth and space science data
• Understanding of scientific data management concepts and principles
• Familiarity with metadata management and data dictionary tools
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills to identify and resolve issues
• Communication skills needed for working with scientists, data stewards and policymakers to develop consensus and to understand use cases
• Team member willing to independently take on responsibilities

• Master's degree in Remote Sensing, Data Science, Information Science, or Earth and Space Science such as astrophysics, heliophysics, Earth science, planetary science or a related field is preferred
• Proposal writing experience

$48,250 - $52,000