GIS Jobs Clearinghouse: Job Detail

Job Detail

Organization: Innovate! Inc.
Title: Geospatial Data Scientist
Location: Sioux Falls, SD

Posted: 2026-05-14
Application Deadline:

Position Description:

Embrace the opportunity to join Innovate! Inc. and become a valued member of our team. We are seeking driven individuals who are passionate about leveraging technology to tackle environmental challenges and drive positive change. If you thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and are eager to contribute your skills and expertise to innovative projects, we invite you to explore this exciting opportunity further. Read on to learn more about how you can be part of our dynamic team.

Innovate! Inc. is seeking a highly motivated individual to join its geospatial solutions team as a Geospatial Data Scientist. This position plays a vital role within the Technical Support Services Contract (TSSC) for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As a key contributor to the USGS EROS Land Use Land Cover Modeling and Projections project, you will engage in the advanced development of science, data, and software products designed to project future land use scenarios and build foundational geospatial datasets essential for robust land cover modeling.

*3 years continuous US residency & valid VISA if not US citizen*

Location: Hybrid, near Sioux Falls, SD
Salary Range: $62500-80000
Position status: Full Time; with benefits
Benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K with match, Life Insurance, and PTO

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Collaborate with scientists, software engineers, project managers, creative professionals, and external collaborators to scope, develop, and implement technical solutions that meet project objectives.
Support the full data science project lifecycle, including exploratory data analysis, data acquisition, data preparation, statistical modeling, model evaluation, software development, and deployment.
Develop organized, modular, scalable, and maintainable code for geospatial science and land cover modeling applications.
Build and support machine learning workflows for geospatial applications, including object detection, semantic segmentation, and other remote sensing use cases.
Work with common geospatial data sources, data formats, GIS software, visualization tools, and geospatial data science libraries.
Contribute to public-facing project deliverables, including academic publications, agency reports, data and software documentation, oral presentations, and poster presentations.
Support regional- and national-scale environmental monitoring and scientific research through development of geospatial data, models, and software products.
Maintain effective technical partnerships with customers, collaborators, and project stakeholders.
Communicate technical issues, project status, risks, and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Work effectively in a hybrid or remote team environment while managing evolving requirements and open-ended scientific problems.

REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:
Bachelor’s degree in data science, computer science, geography, remote sensing, mathematics, statistics, or a related field.
Relevant professional experience in geospatial science, remote sensing, software development, data science, or technical applications in land cover mapping.
Knowledge of fundamental remote sensing and geospatial principles, including satellite imaging systems, land cover science, and applied domains such as ecology, forestry, or agriculture.
Experience working with common geospatial data sources and formats.
Proficiency in Python and common geospatial or data science libraries such as GDAL, NumPy, pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, xarray, or Dask.
Knowledge of statistical approaches for data sampling, analysis, modeling, and validation.
Familiarity with version control tools such as Git and data science or data engineering best practices.
Ability to collaborate effectively in a hybrid or remote work environment.
Strong organization skills with the ability to track, manage, and report progress toward goals.
Ability to obtain and maintain a national agency check and background investigation after hire to obtain credentials for facility access and user accounts.
Three years of continuous residency in the United States.
Ability to travel occasionally, as needed.

PREFERRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:
Master’s degree in data science, computer science, geography, remote sensing, mathematics, statistics, or a related field.
Bachelor’s degree with approximately eight years of relevant professional experience, or a master’s degree with relevant experience, aligned with the required labor category.
Experience developing geospatial machine learning workflows for applications such as land cover mapping, object detection, semantic segmentation, or environmental monitoring.
Experience with GIS software and visualization tools such as QGIS or ArcGIS.
Familiarity with cloud computing, high-performance computing environments, and cloud-native geospatial data formats.
Experience applying software engineering best practices, including testing, packaging, API development, modular code design, and deployment.
Experience contributing to academic publications, technical reports, agency documentation, software documentation, presentations, or scientific communications.
Experience supporting federal science, environmental monitoring, land use/land cover modeling, or remote sensing projects.
Demonstrated ability to work independently on open-ended scientific or technical problems where requirements may evolve over time.

LEARN MORE ABOUT US
Innovate! Inc. is a certified woman-owned consulting firm founded in 2002 by Lily Thomas. We provide innovative solutions to management, technology, and program challenges, with a focus on performance, integrity, and building lasting partnerships with our clients. Our team of over 100 experts includes IT and geospatial specialists, program and project management consultants, environmental scientists, and communications and outreach strategists. Our clients include federal, state, tribal, and local governments, private industry, non-profit organizations, higher education institutions, and utilities. Recent awards we received for excellent service include the 2022 SAG Team Award and 2022 Esri Partner Conference High Potential Award.

Innovate is a fast-paced, rapidly growing group of entrepreneurs creating a culture of excellence. Rapid advancement within our organization is not only possible but also encouraged. To view our website, visit innovateteam.com. Innovate is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, marital status, physical or mental disability, status as a Disabled Veteran, Recently Separated Veteran, Active Duty Wartime or Campaign Badge Veteran, Armed Forces Services Medal, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or cannot access or use this online application process and need an alternative method for applying, please contact us at [email protected].

Please apply at this link: https://innovateteam.my.salesforce-sites.com/InnovatePublicJobBoard/PublicJobPosting?id=a1KVJ00001gP0Yn2AK