Fire Research Technologist

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

EmberWorks Sensing is the R&D division of Coulson Aviation, the aerial firefighting company. Coulson aircraft already fly active fire operations. Those aircraft now carry infrared sensors and Starlink. Every orbit generates fire perimeter data. This role spans the full programme — ORBIT fire analytics, the situational awareness tool, fire retardant programme support, and agency integration. The science layer connects all of it. This is a founding position.

THE ROLE

You will own the fire behavior science layer across the EmberWorks programme. The primary focus is ORBIT fire spread analytics — building the model, designing the validation framework, and translating outputs into products that crews can act on. Beyond that, your airborne sensing background and embedded systems experience make you a direct contributor to sensor optimization, the situational awareness tool, and the fire retardant programme. You will also be the person who sits with agencies in the field and earns their trust. You will be the first person in this role and you will define what it looks like. 

KEY PROBLEM AREA: Fire Spread Analytics

In the first fire season, the primary focus is building the model foundation: a model selection recommendation, a validation framework, and input requirements for the engineering team. As orbit-pass data accumulates, the work expands to active model development, real-time validation, and operational output design. Throughout, you will advise on sensor configuration and data quality to ensure the imagery coming off the aircraft is optimized for fire analytics.

OTHER AREAS OF OWNERSHIP:

• Operational translation - what goes on the IAP map, how predictions are communicated to incident command, what confidence level is required before an output is shown to crews 
• Agency relationships - the field interface that earns trust with fire operations personnel and agency scientists, and brings that feedback back into the product 
• Other EmberWorks products or programs – direct influence on system design or engineer for other programs as assigned.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

• Fire behavior depth — you understand how fires spread, why current models fail, and where the gap between prediction and observation comes from.
• Familiarity with fire spread models — FARSITE, FlamMap, PHOENIX, BehavePlus, or equivalent; understanding of their assumptions and known failure modes
• Experience with aerial or satellite fire intelligence systems - IR imagery, FRP, radiometric data.
• Quantitative fluency — comfortable with geospatial data and model validation; can design a rigorous evaluation framework and defend it, not only on benchmark datasets.
• Operational awareness — you know the difference between what a model can produce and what an incident commander can act on.
• Communication — you can explain model uncertainty to a non-technical audience
• Self-direction — this role does not have a playbook; you will write it.

NICE TO HAVE

• FBAN qualification or progression toward it — or equivalent operational fire behavior experience in an ICS context
• Python or R for data analysis and model evaluation — you don’t need to be a software engineer, but you need to be comfortable working with data programmatically.
• Prior work in a research-to-operations context — taking a scientific method or model and making it usable in an operational setting
• Experience working with NWS, NIFC, USFS, or CAL FIRE in a technical capacity Embedded systems or hardware-software integration experience — relevant to the SA tool and retardant programme work
• Preference for west coast location

A NOTE ON THE ROLE

This is not a single-track role. The fire spread analytics work is the foundation, but the programme scope extends to sensor optimization, situational awareness, and other duties as assigned. The right person will be comfortable moving across those tracks as the programme matures. This is a founding position at an early-stage programme doing genuinely new work. We are looking for someone who finds that more compelling than a stable title at an established organization.

For more information, reach out to niko.peha@emberworks.com