How to hire a spectral scientist

How to hire a spectral scientist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step spectral scientist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a spectral scientist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new spectral scientist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the spectral scientist you need to hire. Certain spectral scientist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a spectral scientist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a spectral scientist that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of spectral scientists.

   Type of Spectral Scientist	Description	Hourly rate
   Spectral Scientist	Computer and information research scientists invent and design new approaches to computing technology and find innovative uses for existing technology. They study and solve complex problems in computing for business, medicine, science, and other fields.	$32-78
   Research And Development Internship	When it comes to Research and Development Internship, the duties will vary according to the organization or company. Most of the time, the responsibilities will revolve around observing the industry, taking part in the research and analysis, lend a helping hand in experiments and surveys, explore theories and attempt to create a model of out it, present findings for evaluation, and develop more innovative designs and systems... Show more	$14-22
   Information Scientist	Information Scientists work with the knowledge database of a given organization and ensure that it is always available to those who need to use it. The creation of systems that simplify the finding of knowledge is an important activity every day as an information scientist... Show more	$26-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • DOD
   • Hyperspectral Imaging
   • Erdas
   • MASINT

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop and implement tools in both IDL/ENVI and Erdas to automate preprocessing and enhancement of imagery data for exploitation and interpretation.
   • Require to acquire geospatial information and extract essential elements from a wide array of multi-intelligence data to include Sigint and Masint.
   • Assay results are used to screen compounds to ensure that high quality candidates are selected for subsequent pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic experiments.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your spectral scientist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A spectral scientist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, spectral scientists' average salary in hawaii is 64% less than in oregon.
   • Seniority. Entry-level spectral scientists earn 59% less than senior-level spectral scientists.
   • Certifications. A spectral scientist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a spectral scientist's salary.

   Average spectral scientist salary

   $106,296yearly

   $51.10 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level spectral scientist salary

   $68,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a spectral scientist job description

   A good spectral scientist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a spectral scientist job description:

   Spectral scientist job description example

   Spectral Scientist -Journeyman
   The contractor shall provide imagery science services in support of the production of standard and non-standard NGA intelligence products. Duties include those AS DEFINED IN MACSS BASE SOW, and:
   
   Provide Image Science Advanced GEOINT products and services in each respective specialty.
   Contribute (directly and indirectly) to the production of GEOINT by supporting analytic customers.
   Contribute directly to the maturation of GEOINT tradecraft by generating GEOINT NoteTradecraft (GN-Ts) where appropriate.
   Maintain awareness of and leverage the capabilities of new national, civil, commercial and foreign government remote sensing systems to generate GEOINT products and services.
   Adapt AGI strategies to accommodate challenges encountered by users supporting various intelligence mission areas.
   Provide guidance to customers and mission partners regarding the strengths, weaknesses, and effective uses of remote sensing systems available to support respective specialties. Engage with users and mission stakeholders to understand operational/analytic workflows and integrate solutions with existing systems.
   Collaborate with fellow image scientists to leverage the full capacity of NGA's scientific expertise and advance customer objectives.
   Provide results to the customer with the requested form and content, including project related briefings as required.
   
   Required Skills:
   
   Bachelor of Science degree or higher in image science, remote sensing, earth science, physical science, engineering, computer science, statistics, or similar engineering/science field.
   Proficiency and at least three years' experience with applied image processing and scientific analysis of spectral image data -including but not limited to:
   Knowledge and skill of spectral imaging, phenomenology, and processing techniques. Proficiency at performing processes including atmospheric correction; change detection; target detection; scene categorization; extraction of land use land cover analysis; and vegetation analysis.
   Knowledge of hyperspectral imaging system technology, image formation, and phenomenology. Experience in processing hyperspectral and/or multispectral imagery from airborne or space-borne systems.
   Understanding of sensor design principles and their relationship to sensor performance in this phenomenology/discipline. Proficiency with techniques, algorithms, and spectroscopic analysis required for multispectral and hyperspectral image processing
   Familiarity with signature library development.
   Proficiency using Harris' ENVICOTS image processing software, and/or ERDAS IMAGINE.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find spectral scientists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any spectral scientists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level spectral scientists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find spectral scientist candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with spectral scientist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   If your interviews with spectral scientist applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new spectral scientist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the spectral scientist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new spectral scientist. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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