The Urban Systems Lab (USL) at The New School invites applicants for a senior research fellow appointment to serve as technical lead for Geospatial Software Engineering. This is a Fixed Term Grant Funded position, with a start date of July 1, 2024 and end date June 30, 2025 with the possibility of renewal or extension contingent on external funding.
The Urban Systems Lab is an interdisciplinary research, design and practice space at The New School that provides knowledge and analysis for developing more equitable, resilient, and sustainable cities. The Lab’s work advances cutting edge science, data visualization, and computation to develop systemic solutions to social and environmental challenges driving inequity and injustice in urban areas. We bring together designers, urban ecologists, scientists, researchers and policymakers with the goal to improve the lives of those most vulnerable, and to enhance decision making and science communication from local to global scales. To learn more visit: http://urbansystemslab.com.
The New School, a private university in New York City’s Greenwich Village, serves undergraduate and graduate students across a range of fields with a commitment to bringing practices in design and social research to studying issues of our time and challenging students to become engaged citizens dedicated to solving problems and contributing to the public good.
The New School is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and particularly seeks applications from members of underrepresented groups, as well as candidates who share this commitment.
OVERVIEW
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Research Fellow in Geospatial Software Engineering to provide technical leadership and contribute to the development of ClimateIQ, an AI-driven climate risk modeling environment designed to provide high-resolution climate hazard information for cities globally supported by Google.org. The ideal candidate will have experience in spatial analysis, spatial database management, and software development to analyze, manage, and visualize complex spatial data. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in advancing the overall GIS, spatial, and software engineering capabilities for ClimateIQ and within the Lab, collaborating closely with the Lab’s Director and a team of climate modelers and researchers. This is an excellent opportunity to work with a diverse global team including with partners at Google, Climasens, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the Virginia Climate Center and Beijer Institute to improve planning and urban climate adaptation across the world. The Fellow will also participate in an ongoing research program in the Urban Systems Lab and will develop new research based on their interest and expertise with faculty and students at The New School and with external colleagues on the project. The position is eligible for Full Time benefits, for information on the University benefits package including health and retirement plans, please visit http://www.newschool.edu/human-resources/benefits/. This position will report to the Director of the Urban Systems Lab.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead the development and implementation of spatial analysis techniques within the ClimateIQ modeling environment.
Manage spatial databases, cleaning, preparation, and conversion procedures to ensure the integrity, efficiency, and security of geospatial data.
Implement data transformation and spatial interpolation for aggregation and disaggregation pipelines to enhance the functionality and user experience of the ClimateIQ software platform.
Perform software development and write software documentation as needed.
Participate in ongoing meetings with members of the ClimateIQ team and the Urban Systems Lab.
Stay abreast of advancements in geospatial technology, software engineering, and climate modeling to inform ongoing development efforts.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Masters or Bachelors of Science or Arts (B.S., B.A.) in a relevant field such as Geospatial Information Science, Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics or related discipline.
Extensive experience in geospatial analysis, spatial database management, and software engineering.
Expertise in extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes for data migration and integration.
Familiarity with geoprocessing workflows and geospatial analysis design.
Experience in manipulating spatial data across various scales, with expertise in advanced techniques such as Cokriging, Areal Weighting, and Machine Learning for learning patterns and estimating values.
Proficiency in programming languages commonly used in geospatial analysis and software development (e.g., Python, R, GeoPandas, JavaScript).
Experience with GIS software (including Google Earth Engine, QGIS, ArcGIS), geospatial databases (e.g., PostGIS, GeoServer, MongoDB), and data formats (including Shapefiles, GeoJSON, KML).
Excellent communication, collaboration and demonstrated leadership abilities.
Commitment to The New School’s EISJ principles.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
The following skills are preferred, but not required:
Advanced degree (Ph.D. or Master's) in a relevant field such as Geospatial Information Science, Geospatial Informatics, Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related discipline.
Experience in AGILE methodologies.
Experience and publications on data science and engineering focused on climate modeling, vulnerability and risk.
Dynamic integrated modeling is a plus as is experience working with multi-hazards or cascading hazards.
Expertise in the use of Google Earth Engine API, Google Cloud Platform services, including Colab, Compute, Storage, and Vertex for geospatial data analysis and visualization.
Strong understanding of frontend and backend engineering principles, data discovery, and web technologies.
Prior experience in climate modeling, AI-driven modeling environments, or related fields is preferred.
Experience in the fields of: Climate Change Adaptation, Resilience, and/or Disaster Risk Reduction.
WORK MODALITY
Hybrid - Employees hired for this position primarily work remotely with the occasional on-campus presence required with advanced notice. Employees in this role will also be expected to use their best judgment to be on campus when necessary in order to best fulfill the responsibilities of their job descriptions. However, we prefer candidates that can commit to being in NYC with regularity for in-person work, ideally on a weekly or semi-monthly basis. #LI-HYBRID
SALARY
$75,000 - 80,000 commensurate with experience
TO APPLY
Review of applications will be on a rolling basis and open until filled.
Interested candidates should submit:
A cover letter describing the applicant’s research, scholarship and work experience relevant to this position.
A curriculum vitae.
Names and contact information of three references.
Example publications, products, or websites showcasing recent work.