Software Developer, Emerging Hydrographic Data Systems

Job description

The Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping is seeking a Software Developer / Scientific Programmer to support software architecture and technical programming for research and operational systems that produce, validate, analyze, and deliver shallow-water bathymetry and related coastal geospatial data products. The position leads the design and maintenance of scalable, automated data-processing workflows for coastal remote-sensing data, with emphasis on ICESat-2 and airborne bathymetric lidar for nearshore bathymetry and comparable applications that support navigational safety, coastal science, habitat assessment, and hydrographic research. This role translates research algorithms into reliable, documented, and reproducible production software; collaborates with scientists, engineers, students, and external partners; supports data quality assessment and uncertainty characterization; and provides technical oversight for software development practices, cloud/high-performance processing, version control, testing, and user-facing documentation. The position requires deep technical judgment, the ability to lead complex software efforts in a research environment, and strong communication skills to bridge scientific requirements and production-quality implementation. Duties/Responsibilities Scientific Software Architecture and Development (40%) Lead the design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance of scientific software systems that process hydrographic data from satellite, lidar, and other emerging survey methods. Build robust, modular, and well-documented code bases for point-cloud processing, sea-surface and seafloor return classification, refraction correction, uncertainty estimation, validation, data transformation, and delivery of analysis-ready products. Implement scalable workflows using languages and tools such as Python, C++, and MATLAB, scientific computing libraries, geospatial/HDF5 data formats, APIs, containerized environments, automated testing frameworks, and version-controlled collaborative development practices. Establish and promote best practices for software engineering in a research setting, including documentation standards, testing, continuous integration, data provenance, quality assurance, and reproducibility. Specialized Data Processing (30%) Support ongoing development and testing of the NOAA SatBathy software tool, cBLUE (comprehensive bathymetric lidar uncertainty estimator), and PSUE (photogrammetric shoreline uncertainty estimator) Support ongoing research and development of the NASA ATL24 global nearshore bathymetric data product. Create tools and workflows for comparison of satellite-derived bathymetry against airborne lidar, vessel-based sonar, charting, or other reference datasets to evaluate accuracy and fitness for use. Contribute to integration and analysis of satellite-derived bathymetry with broader hydrographic, coastal habitat, coral reef, and nearshore mapping applications. Cloud Computing and Data Product Operations (20%) Design and optimize automated processing workflows for large archives of remote-sensing data using cloud, high-performance, or distributed computing resources. Monitor processing performance, detect failures, improve throughput, manage intermediate and final data products, and support repeatable updates as new data sets become available. Ensure data handling, documentation, and software practices support transparency, traceability, cybersecurity expectations, and long-term maintainability. Collaboration, Documentation, and User Support (10%) Work with scientists, hydrographers, coastal engineers, data managers, sponsors, and institutional partners to refine software requirements and interpret technical outcomes. Prepare technical documentation, user guides, workflow notes, release notes, diagrams, and training materials for internal and external users. Contribute technical content to reports, proposals, progress updates, publications, presentations, demonstrations, and stakeholder briefings. Requirements Minimum Acceptable Education & Experience: Bachelor's degree in computer science and/or software engineering or a closely related field At least three years of professional experience developing and testing software tools for working with coastal/nearshore remote sensing. Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, testing, documenting, and maintaining production-quality scientific or geospatial software in Python, C++, and MATLAB. Experience working with large scientific datasets, remote-sensing or geospatial formats, and reproducible data-processing workflows. Experience with ICESat-2/ATLAS bathymetric data product development, including ATL03 and/or ATL24 Experience working with the NOAA SatBathy software Experience with point-cloud classification, bathymetric lidar, and satellite-derived bathymetry. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: Advanced proficiency with Python and scientific computing packages; ability to work with HDF5/NetCDF, GeoTIFF, point-cloud, vector, raster, and other geospatial data formats. Knowledge of geospatial coordinate systems, vertical datums, bathymetric mapping concepts, lidar/remote-sensing data processing, uncertainty estimation, and validation against reference datasets. Experience with version control, code review, testing, continuous integration, documentation, issue tracking, and collaborative software development practices. Ability to work across research and operational contexts, translating scientific requirements into reliable software while communicating technical tradeoffs clearly to non-software audiences. Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills, with attention to data quality, processing efficiency, reproducibility, and long-term maintainability. Other Requirements: Occasional travel or participation in technical meetings, workshops, demonstrations, or field/project coordination activities may be required. Preferred Qualifications: Experience with machine learning or ensemble classification approaches for scientific data, including confidence scoring, model evaluation, and quality metrics. Experience with cloud platforms or distributed processing environments, including AWS-based scientific processing, containerization, workflow orchestration, and large-scale data-product generation. Familiarity with hydrographic survey data, airborne bathymetric lidar, multibeam sonar, NOAA/NSIDC/NASA Earthdata ecosystems, OGC/ISO metadata, or data-product publication requirements. Applicant Instructions: Applicants should be prepared to upload the following documents when applying online within the My Experience: Resume/CV section of the application: (Maximum of 5 Documents) Resume/CV Cover Letter Applications that are missing any of the required items may not move forward for consideration. Additional uploaded documents not requested in the position announcement will not be reviewed. Please be advised that this position is supported by external sponsor funding. As such, continued employment in this role is contingent upon the availability of those external funds. If, for any reason, the sponsor funding is reduced or discontinued, employment may be subject to modification or termination in accordance with applicable policies and procedures. The University of New Hampshire is an R1 Carnegie classification research institution providing comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs of distinction. UNH is located in Durham on a 188-acre campus, 60 miles north of Boston and 8 miles from the Atlantic coast and is convenient to New Hampshire’s lakes and mountains. There is a student enrollment of 13,000 students, with a full-time faculty of over 600, offering 90 undergraduate and more than 70 graduate programs. The University actively promotes a dynamic learning environment in which qualified individuals of differing perspectives, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds pursue academic goals with mutual respect and shared inquiry. EEO Statement The University System of New Hampshire is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access employer. The University System is committed to creating an environment that values and supports diversity and inclusiveness across our campus communities and encourages applications from qualified individuals who will help us achieve this mission. The University System prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or marital status. Compensation Pay Range: $47,920.00 - $85,410.00 The pay range for this position is listed above. Actual offer will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and internal equity, in addition to relevant business considerations. More information on benefits can be found here: USNH Employee Benefits | Human Resources Location: Durham