Geospatial Remote Sensing Intern
Company Description
Syngenta Seeds is one of the world’s largest developers and producers of seed for
farmers, commercial growers, retailers and small seed companies. Syngenta seeds
improve the quality and yields of crops. High-quality seeds ensure better and more
productive crops, which is why farmers invest in them. Advanced seeds help mitigate
risks such as disease and drought and allow farmers to grow food using less land, less
water and fewer inputs.
Syngenta Seeds brings farmers more vigorous, stronger, resistant plants, including
innovative hybrid varieties and biotech crops that can thrive even in challenging growing
conditions.
Syngenta Seeds is headquartered in the United States.
Job Description
Role Overview
Support Syngenta’s Global Germplasm Development Pipeline through applying high-resolution satellite imagery and advanced geospatial analytics to extract actionable insights from multi-source satellite data to enhance breeding pipelines.
Key Responsibilities
- Process and analyze high-resolution satellite imagery from commercial and public sources.
- Develop and validate remote sensing algorithms for physiological, agronomic, and performance trait estimation
- Build automated geospatial workflows for large-scale image processing, feature extraction, and temporal analysis across diverse growing regions
- Lead an independent research project focused on satellite-based methodology or algorithm development, culminating in a presentation to research leadership
- Collaborate with breeders and trialing teams to ground-truth satellite observations and translate remote sensing insights into actionable recommendations
- Document analytical methods, create reproducible code, and maintain technical documentation for geospatial pipelines
What Success Looks Like
This internship provides hands-on experience with cutting-edge satellite technology and precision agriculture applications. You'll contribute to operational remote sensing systems that impact crop management decisions across thousands of acres globally, while building skills applicable to careers in digital agriculture, geospatial analytics, or graduate research.
Qualifications
Required:
- Currently enrolled as a graduate student in an accredited college/university
- Pursuing degree in Remote Sensing, GIS, Geography, Environmental Science, Agricultural Engineering, Geospatial Science, Data Science, Computer Science, or related discipline
- Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA
Preferred:
- Strong spatial reasoning and analytical problem-solving abilities
- Effective communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences
- Proficiency in geospatial programming using Python (rasterio, geopandas, GDAL) and/or R (terra, sf, raster)
- Understanding of GIS software (ArcGIS Pro, QGIS) and spatial databases
- Experience with machine learning applications in remote sensing (classification, regression, object detection)
- Familiarity with cloud-based geospatial platforms (Google Earth Engine, AWS, Planetary Computer)
Additional Information
What We Offer:
• A culture that celebrates diversity & inclusion, promotes professional
development, and strives for a work-life balance that supports the team
members. Offers flexible work options to support your work and personal needs.
• Full Benefit Package (Medical, Dental & Vision) that starts your first day.
• 401k plan with company match, Profit Sharing & Retirement Savings
Contribution.
• Paid Vacation, Paid Holidays, Maternity and Paternity Leave, Education
Assistance, Wellness Programs, Corporate Discounts, among other benefits.
Syngenta has been ranked as a top employer by Science Journal.
Learn more about our team and our mission here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVCN_51GbNI
Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment,
hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color,
religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status,
disability, or any other legally protected status.