AsiansInAcademia | Geospatial Developer at University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, United States

Geospatial Developer

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University of Maryland

Location: College Park, Maryland
Category: Admin-Other Administrative Positions
Application Deadline:

Job Description

Position Number:

114105

Title:

Senior Faculty Specialist

Functional Title:

Geospatial Developer

Category Status:

15-Fac.Non-Tenured,Continuing Con

Applicant Search Category:

Faculty

University Authorized FTE:

1.000

Unit:

BSOS-Geography

Campus/College Information:

Founded in 1856, University of Maryland, College Park is the state’s flagship institution. Our 1,250-acre College Park campus is just minutes away from Washington, D.C., and the nexus of the nation’s legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power. This unique proximity to business and technology leaders, federal departments and agencies, and a myriad of research entities, embassies, think tanks, cultural centers, and non-profit organizations is simply unparalleled. Synergistic opportunities for our faculty and students abound and are virtually limitless in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas. The University is committed to attracting and retaining outstanding and diverse faculty and staff that will enhance our stature of preeminence in our three missions of teaching, scholarship, and full engagement in our community, the state of Maryland, and in the world.

Background Checks

Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify you from employment.

Position Summary/Purpose of Position:

The University of Maryland (College Park) Department of Geographical Sciences is searching for a Geospatial Developer. The Geospatial Developer will use knowledge and skills associated with remotely sensed data, software development, and systems architecture to contribute towards creating an efficient, accessible, and sustainable platform for onloading, analyzing, and extracting large-scale spatial data into decentralized and traditional information systems. The position will be responsible for developing pipelines to accelerate the above workflow to increase data equity and resiliency efforts while leveraging novel decentralized technologies. This individual must operate independently to craft maintainable, testable, and well-documented code. Candidates should have extensive experience in scientific programming in Python and Javascript and a willingness to learn Go, Solidity, Rust, and other languages as required. Further, the individual should be comfortable with relational, NoSQL, and P2P databases and system administration with Docker (Compose / Swarm), AWS, K8’s, and associated networking tools. Strong candidates will have had previous experience operating within public-public and public-private partnerships within the remote sensing, software engineering, or Web3 industries. Moreover, strong candidates would have knowledge and experience with the following Web3 tools / subjects: Filecoin, IPFS, MetaMask, and EVM Blockchains.

The initial duration of this appointment is for a two year term with the potential for extension based on performance and availability of funding. This position is eligible to work remotely.

This role would be a member of the Center for Geospatial Information Science (CGIS) and the Spatial Multiscale Analytical Science Hub (SMASH), in addition to the Department of Geographical Sciences. As such, the geospatial developer would be encouraged to interact with these broader communities and potential collaborate on additional projects.

Benefits Summary

Top Benefits and Perks:

Faculty Benefits Summary

Minimum Qualifications:

Education:
BS in Geospatial Data Science, Geographic Information Science, Computer Science or close equivalent.

Experience:

Experience developing and optimizing algorithms.
Extensive programming experience in Python and Javascript using best practices;

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Demonstrated ability to independently craft and document scientific code;
Ability to write documentation for non-technical audiences;
Comfortable working with the python geospatial stack, including GDAL, shapely, Rasterio, Geopandas, PySAL, rasterstats, etc.;
Familiarity with geospatial data structures and algorithms and OGC standard protocols (EX. COGs, STACs);
Familiarity with current remote sensing platforms (Landsat, Sentinel, Planet) and data delivery systems (EarthExplorer, Google Earth Engine, SentinelHub, S3);
Basic proficiency using desktop software (e.g.. QGIS) or web GIS software;
Excellent English oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

Preferences:

Preferred Experience:

Experience constructing end-to-end user-facing data delivery systems (EX. REST APIs, web-based mapping, programmatic APIs);
Experience with onloading data to IPFS, Filecoin, and other decentralized – “Web 3” – systems;
Experience conducting or contributing to GIS and Remote Sensing research projects;
Experience with remote sensing for publicly funded agencies (EX. NGA, NASA, USGS, IARPA, FEMA).

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Exposure and willingness to learn Go, Solidity, Rust, etc., as required to complete job requirements;
Ability to incorporate diverse development tools and environments, such as Docker, Docker Compose, reverse proxies (Nginx, Traefix, etc), Git, Github, NPM, Poetry, AWS (S3, DynamoDB, EC2, Snowball, Lambda), Jupyter Notebooks, Linux;
Knowledge of Web 3 systems and P2P networking;
Interest in EVM Blockchains and exploring blockchain-related technical research;
Previous contributions to advancing data equity and access;
History of open source software development, including successfully distributing and packaging scientific and non-scientific software systems.

Additional Information:

Applications should include a brief (1 page) cover letter, a resume or CV, and the names and contact details (including phone and e-mail) of 3 references.
For best consideration, applications should be submitted by November 30th, but the search will continue until the position is filled.
For questions about the position, please contact Dr. Taylor Oshan at toshan@umd.edu. Further information on this position and on academic and research programs of the Department can be found at http://www.geog.umd.edu. Applications from women and minorities are particularly sought.

Posting Date:

10/28/2022

Open Until Filled

Yes

Best Consideration Date

11/30/2022

Diversity Statement:

The University of Maryland, College Park, an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, creed, marital status, political affiliation, personal appearance, or on the basis of rights secured by the First Amendment, in all aspects of employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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