Special Information

• This position is an on-site position which requires the incumbent to complete their work primarily at an NAU site, campus, or facility with or without accommodation. Opportunities for remote work are rare.
• This position is subject to the availability of funding. 
• Driving a vehicle on behalf of the university is anticipated to be a regular part of this position. Arizona Administrative Code Fleet Safety Policy requires all employees who drive on university business become authorized by submitting Driver’s license information for driving record monitoring, and completion of training appropriate to the level of driving performed. The law applies to all faculty, staff, and students who drive personal or university-owned motorized vehicles for any business purpose. More information on the NAU Authorized Driver Policy can be found on the NAU website.
• The anticipated start date for this position is 2/1/27.
• Due to this project’s funding source, this position is open only to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (green card holders).
• The position may require handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in accordance with sponsor and university data-security requirements. Work on this project may involve technical data, hardware, or software subject to U.S. export control regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR); the incumbent must be able to comply with applicable export control requirements and with any project-specific technology control plan.

About the Department/College

The Radiant Center for Remote Sensing, in partnership with the Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics (RSG) Lab in the Steve Sanghi College of Engineering at Northern Arizona University, seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate to serve as lead technical researcher on a sponsored research project focused on using UAV lidar-based forest models to simulate UAV swarm flights to identify optimum configurations with the highest performance.

This is one of several concurrent postdoctoral scholar recruitments at Radiant Center, and the successful candidate will collaborate closely with fellow postdoctoral researchers and faculty working simultaneously on related projects.

About the Position

The project includes a gradient of forested study sites with increasingly complex vegetation and terrain that are imaged with UAV and terrestrial lidar. Using the UAV lidar-based forest models, the postdoctoral research associate will test and quantify multi-agent UAV swarm objective planning, continuous adaptation and re-organization capabilities within each digital twin from each site. The postdoctoral research associate will characterize and document this variability in performance. The UAV swarm will be also tested with decreasing number of agents to quantify the impact of losses of increasing number of individual agents on swarm-level emergent behavior and assess self-healing capabilities. The postdoctoral research associate will work collaboratively with a team of postdoctoral researchers and faculty working on various other aspects of the project and will contribute to technical reporting and manuscript preparation. The position is based in Flagstaff, AZ.

Work environment: This position requires some fieldwork, including UAV flight testing across Flagstaff-area terrain ranging from desert and canyon country to ponderosa pine, mixed conifer forest, and alpine tundra (spanning close to 8,000 feet of elevation change within about an hour of campus), as well as occasional overnight or multi-day travel for more distant field campaigns and for conference travel. The position may require occasional overtime, particularly around field campaigns and sponsor reporting deadlines.

Responsibilities Include

55% - Develop and Test UAV Swarm Simulations to Identify Optimum Configurations

• Lead integration and adaptation of solid models for UAV flight simulation.
• Develop UAV swarm simulation.
• Test various UAV swarm simulations with increasing agent losses.
• Identify and document optimum configurations and agent numbers for each forested environment.

20% - Develop Forest Models from UAV and Lidar Point Cloud Data

• Lead algorithm development for turning the lidar point cloud data into solid models.
• Test solid models.

15% - Dissemination, Reporting & Travel

• Prepare technical reports and milestone updates for project sponsors.
• Author and co-author peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations.
• Travel to attend and present research findings at scientific conferences, and travel to field sites to support data collection.

5% - Team Supervision & Mentoring

• Help mentor graduate students in research methods, technical development, and professional growth.

5% - Other Duties as Assigned

• Perform other duties as assigned in support of lab and project needs.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Informatics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or a closely related field, completed prior to the start date.

*A combination of related education, experience, and training may be used as an equivalent to the above Minimum Qualifications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated research experience in solid models, UAV simulations and optimization.
• Proficiency in Python and/or C++.
• Experience in solid models and lidar data.
• Experience in UAV simulation and swarm simulations.
• Hands-on experience with drone hardware and software, including UAV flight-controller/autopilot stacks (e.g., Pixhawk, Cube, ArduPilot/PX4) and edge-compute platforms (e.g., Raspberry Pi).
• Field research/testing experience with UAV systems.
• Record of peer-reviewed publications in the above topics.
• FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, or willingness to obtain one shortly after hire.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Strong programming skills in Python and/or C++.
• Working knowledge of UAV simulations and flight operations.
• Ability to take initiative and complete complex, ambiguous technical tasks with minimal direct supervision.
• Ability to synthesize complex technical information into clear written reports, manuscripts, and presentations.
• Ability to safely plan and execute UAV field operations, including in remote/rugged terrain and under variable weather conditions.

Compensation

Salary range begins at $70,000. Annual salary commensurate with candidate's qualifications and related experience.

Pre-Employment Check

Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, an employment history verification and a degree verification (in some cases) prior to employment. You may also be required to complete a fingerprint background check. Also, as an employer in the state of Arizona, NAU is required to participate in the federal E-Verify program that assists employers with verifying new employees' right to work in the United States.

This position has been identified as a safety/security sensitive position. Therefore, per AZ Revised Statute, Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, employment history investigation, degree verification (in some cases) and fingerprinting. If you are applying for a job that requires a CDL, you will be required to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse and adhere to the clearinghouse requirements.

Notice of Availability of the Annual Fire and Security Report

Each year Northern Arizona University releases an Annual Security Report. The report is a result of a federal law known as the Clery Act. The report includes Clery reportable crime statistics for the three most recent completed calendar years and discloses procedures, practices and programs NAU uses to keep students and employees safe including how to report crimes or other emergencies occurring on campus. In addition, the Fire Safety Report is combined with the Annual Security Report for the NAU Flagstaff Mountain Campus as this campus has on-campus student housing. This report discloses fire safety policies and procedures related to on-campus student housing and statistics for fires that occurred in those facilities. If you would like a free paper copy of the report, please contact the NAUPD Records Department at (928) 523-8884 or by visiting the department at 525 E. Pine Knoll Drive in Flagstaff.

Immigration Support/Sponsorship

Northern Arizona University will not provide any U.S. immigration support or sponsorship for this position.

Submit your Application

To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply" button on this page. You must submit your application by midnight of the application deadline.

If you are an individual with a disability and need reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process, please contact the Disability Resources Office at 928-523-8773, DR@nau.edu, or PO Box 5633, Flagstaff AZ 86011.