WORKING TREES — LiDAR Research Scientist
Remote (US-based); field travel required | Full-time | $80,000 base (~$112,000 w/ full benefits) | 2-year term with opportunity to extend
Working Trees Description
Working Trees partners with ranchers to design and scale silvopasture systems - integrating trees into grazing lands to improve productivity, restore ecosystems, and generate new income from carbon.
With >2,000 hectares and >450,000 trees already planted, we’re proving that productive agriculture and nature restoration can go hand in hand.
Our mission is to unlock the next generation of ranching — where livestock producers and nature thrive together.
How We Work (Our Values)
Real Impact – We build tools that measurably improve the planet and farmers’ lives.
Scientific Rigor – Transparent, data-driven, verifiable.
Bias to Action – Climate won’t wait; we learn fast and move decisively.
Farmer First – Producers are our partners; their success is our success.
Resourceful & Bold – Pragmatic builders with ambitious goals.
The Role
You’ll lead the collection and analysis of drone-based LiDAR and complementary ground-based data in order to calibrate allometric equations for key agroforestry species (planted in silvopasture and other agroforestry systems), working closely with the Chief Scientist and technical team.
In partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Savanna Institute, the goal of this project is to reduce the uncertainty in the allometric equations used to estimate carbon in agroforestry trees — currently the largest source of error in agroforestry carbon accounting, and a significant bottleneck to agroforestry adoption.
The LiDAR research scientist is the primary technical engine behind the project, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the collection and processing of drone LiDAR point clouds from thousands of trees across the Savanna Institute's Midwest farm network (and other sites) to calibrate species-specific equations and determine best practices for tailoring allometric equations for agroforestry systems.
Responsibilities
Field Data Collection
- Plan and execute drone LiDAR campaigns during spring and fall leaf-off windows across Midwest agroforestry farm sites (IL, IA, MN, WI and others).
- Operate drone LiDAR systems; collect paired ground-truth measurements (DBH, height) at each site.
- Coordinate site access with Savanna Institute farm network partners; support destructive harvest validation events when available.
Point Cloud Processing & Allometric Modeling
- Process raw LiDAR point clouds (individual tree segmentation, volume extraction) using open-source toolchains (lidR, PDAL, MetaShape, CloudCompare, or equivalent).
- Pair volumetric estimates with wood density data to compute aboveground biomass; develop and validate species-specific allometric equations, working closely with TNC to determine agreement with equations found in the literature
- Quantify uncertainty throughout the process, providing detailed estimates of errors, assumptions, and parameters used in data acquisition.
- Benchmark new equations against standard genus-level equations (Jenkins 2003; Chojnacky 2011; Westfall 2024) and quantify uncertainty reduction.
Data Management, Dissemination & Collaboration
- Maintain an open, reproducible dataset of point clouds, tree inventory data, and calibrated equations; upload relevant data to Globallometree.
- Co-author peer-reviewed publication(s); contribute scientific outputs to Working Trees app and TNC web tool integration.
- Serve as primary technical liaison between Working Trees, TNC, and Savanna Institute; contribute to grant reporting.
Contribute to General Scientific and Technical Workstreams
- Time permitting, contribute to Working Trees scientific and technical teams, including duties such as: (1) designing and optimizing carbon monitoring, reporting, and verification best practices, (2) synthesizing data and literature to drive carbon accumulation forecasts for agroforestry systems
Qualifications
Required:
- Experience with remote sensing, forest ecology, geospatial science, or related field.
- Hands-on experience operating drone LiDAR and processing point cloud data.
- Mastery of Python, R, or similar language for data analysis and processing pipelines.
- Experience fitting allometric or regression models to biological data.
- FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate (or willingness to obtain before fieldwork begins).
- Ability to plan and manage multi-site field campaigns independently.
- Cross functional collaboration with stakeholders across Working Trees, TNC, and Savanna Institute
Preferred:
- PhD (or MS + 3 years' experience) in a relevant field.
- Experience with agroforestry systems or open-grown tree biomass estimation.
- Familiarity with voluntary carbon market methodologies (Verra VCS, ACR, or similar).
- Peer-reviewed publications in forest biomass, remote sensing, or carbon accounting.
Pay: $80,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: Remote
