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Jobs · South Dakota

Senior Lidar Systems & Geospatial Engineering Lead

KBR Careers · Sioux Falls, SD · 1 wk ago
Full-time

KBR’s Science and Space Division is seeking a Senior Lidar Systems & Geospatial Engineering Lead to support the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center’s EROS Calibration/Validation Center of Excellence (ECCOE) project. This full-time, specialized position provides technical leadership for lidar system characterization, quality assurance, accuracy assessment, and advanced geospatial analysis, with emphasis on large-scale airborne lidar programs such as the USGS managed 3D Elevation Program (3DEP).

About the role

The role combines lidar subject-matter expertise, algorithm and software development, standards support, and technical leadership to develop rigorous, scalable methods for evaluating point-cloud quality, density, spatial consistency, and elevation accuracy. The Senior Lidar Systems & Geospatial Engineering Lead will write and publish results for peer-reviewed publications and actively participate in professional organizations, conferences, and workshops.

Responsibilities

  • Lead technical QA/QC and characterization of airborne lidar datasets and derived elevation products against 3DEP, ASPRS, contractual, and project-specific requirements.
  • Develop and implement advanced methods for evaluating lidar point density, spatial distribution, completeness, and localized deficiencies, including point-based and Voronoi-based density approaches.
  • Perform vertical accuracy assessments using GNSS, total-station, terrestrial laser scanning, UAS, and other independent reference datasets; evaluate bias, RMSE, variability, and spatial error patterns and metrics.
  • Investigate lidar anomalies and determine whether observed deficiencies are associated with acquisition, calibration, classification, processing, or product-generation workflows.
  • Develop scalable Python-based tools for processing tens of millions of points per tile and thousands of production datasets using libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, GeoPandas, Shapely, PDAL, laspy, and Rasterio.
  • Design automated QA/QC workflows, acceptance metrics, statistical summaries, density histograms, spatial deficiency maps, and project-level exception reporting.
  • Conduct applied research to improve lidar quality metrics and evaluate limitations of conventional raster-based density and accuracy assessment methods.
  • Perform sensitivity analyses addressing point-return selection, edge effects, spatial resolution, density thresholds, and algorithm configuration.
  • Support development and interpretation of ASPRS lidar density and positional accuracy standards and related industry guidance.
  • Evaluate emerging airborne, terrestrial, UAS, and spaceborne lidar technologies and their potential application to national-scale 3D mapping programs.
  • Provide technical review of methodologies, specifications, statements of work, contractor deliverables, and research products.
  • Lead and mentor multidisciplinary teams of scientists, engineers, analysts, and software developers and communicate complex technical findings to program managers, government stakeholders, industry partners, and researchers.
  • Work with USGS representatives at EROS and the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) to incorporate lidar data quality products and processes into standards and specifications.
  • Support ECCOE System Characterization team with commercial data quality analysis.

Requirements

  • Minimum of MS in physics, mathematics, remote sensing, geospatial science, geomatics, environmental science, or a related field; PhD preferred.
  • 8+ years of progressive, lidar-related experience.
  • Fundamental programming skills.
  • Three years of continuous residency in the US for issuance of a Government Security credential.
  • The candidate must be able to obtain and maintain a national agency check and background investigation after hiring to obtain a badge for government facility access and user account.

Skills

  • Airborne Lidar
  • 3DEP QA/QC
  • ASPRS Standards
  • Point Density & Spatial Distribution
  • Voronoi Analysis
  • Vertical Accuracy
  • GNSS/TLS/Total Station Validation
  • Point-Cloud Processing
  • DEMs & Terrain Analysis
  • Python Geospatial Development
  • PDAL/laspy/LASTools
  • Large-Scale Data Processing
  • Algorithm Development
  • System Characterization
  • Technical Leadership
  • Strong Communication Skills

Work Location

This position supports a team anchored in Sioux Falls, SD, and is offered in a hybrid remote/onsite work environment. Fully remote work will be considered for the right candidate.

Benefits

KBR offers a selection of competitive lifestyle benefits which could include:

  • 401K plan with company match
  • Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, AD&D
  • Flexible spending account
  • Disability
  • Paid time off or flexible work schedule

We support career advancement through professional training and development.

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