Postdoctoral Scholar, EMS Overmatch

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**Postdoctoral Scholar, EMS Overmatch**

Northern Arizona University

****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.

• 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 Dynamic

and Active Systems Lab (DASL) 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 radio source localization from unmanned aerial systems.

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, EMS Overmatch, develops and field-tests methods for

locating radio-frequency sources using an aerial platform, combining

signal-based position estimation with path-planning strategies that

guide the UAV toward the vantage points that best resolve a source\'s

location. The work builds on the lab\'s history of developing UAV-based

radio-tracking systems, extending that foundation toward more capable

localization and platform hardware for this new application area.

The general research plan progresses from building out and validating a

single-vehicle localization system. This will include hardware

integration, field data collection, and flight testing across the varied

terrain around Flagstaff. The program will progress toward more advanced

localization and path-planning capabilities as the research matures. The

postdoc will supervise graduate student researchers supporting the

project, work closely with the PI, and contribute to technical reporting

and manuscript preparation. The position is based in Flagstaff, AZ.

Work Environment: This position requires a substantial amount of

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 overnig t

or multi-day travel for more distant field campaigns and for conference

travel. Laboratory work involves electronics assembly/test equipment, RF

signal generators and spectrum analyzers, 3D printers, and drone

hardware. The position may require occasional overtime, particularly

around field campaigns and sponsor reporting deadlines. The position may

require handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in accordance

with sponsor and university data-security requirements.

**Responsibilities Include**

45% - Radio Source Localization & Path Planning Research

• Lead development of algorithms and software development for
  
  

real-time radio-frequency (RF) source localization from an aerial

platform.

• Develop and evaluate path-planning strategies that optimize UAV
  
  

positioning to improve localization accuracy and efficiency.

• Investigate RF propagation modeling approaches, including
  
  

terrain-aware and simplified models, to characterize tradeoffs

between prediction accuracy and computational cost in complex

terrain.

• Contribute to the ongoing evolution of the project\'s research
  
  

approach as findings develop, including potential extensions to

additional operating scenarios.

25% - UAV Platform Development, Field Testing & Test Coordination

Lead integration and adaptation of UAV hardware and RF-sensing payloads

(hardware and software) to meet