Geospatial Backend Software Developer I (52258)

Who We Are

TheCenter for Geospatial Solutions(CGS) is aself-sustainingnonprofit tohelp bridge the gap between policy and practice our mission is toenablepeople and the planet to meet the pace of changeby expanding access tonew technologiesthat powermore sustainable andequitableoutcomes.

We are afullyremote team of award-winningprofessionals withdecades of appliedexpertiseandend-to-end GIS embracingwhole-systemthinkingandstate-of-the-arttechnologyweenable partners across public private and nonprofit sectors totackle complex real-worldchallengeslikehousing affordability ecosystem conservation water management and sustainable infrastructurewithgreater clarity.

Our work liberates and connects key information creates nuanced pictures of complex situations and makes data easier touseunderstand and act use tools like satellite data and artificial intelligence to deliver insights for impact.

At CGS we believe that technology can be a tool for positive change. We are dedicated to building a diverse team thatrepresentsthe communities and systems we live and work in. Ifyoureexcited about this role butdontmeet every listed qualification we encourage you to apply. We value potential curiosity andlivedexperiences andknowa more inclusive team makes us a stronger organization.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Mission

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use taxation and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946 the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic social and environmental challenges. Through education training publications and events we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions. We organize our work around three impact areas: land and water; land and fiscal systems; and land and communities. We envision a world where cities and regions prosper and benefit from coordinated land use planning and public finance; where communities thrive from efficient and equitable allocation of limited land resources; and where stewardship of land and water resources ensures a livable future.

Position Overview

As aGeospatial Backend Software Developer you will architect the data infrastructure poweringCenter for GeospatialSolutionsproducts and services. This is a systems-heavy role designed for an engineer who thrives at the intersection of geospatial data science and backend will be building high-performance end-to-end systems for the harmonizationintegration geoprocessingand analysisof massive heterogeneous datasets from diverse global sources.

We expect the Software Developer to have strong foundations in software design and an eagerness to learn and solve challenging will work across a diverse technology landscape that includes conventional relational databases Esri and open-source geospatial platforms cloud-optimized data storesweb APIsand knowledgegraphand semantic will conceptualize design build and deploy new and innovative products and applications for our infrastructure tofacilitatethe wide offerings capabilities and feedback loops for water data management. We havehigh standardsfor code quality all forms of testing and intelligent architecture.

This is afixed-termfull-time position at37.5 hours/week in Washington D.C. Cambridge MA PhoenixAZ;or remotely. Occasional domestic and international travel up to 10% may expect the Software Developer to have strong foundations in software design and an eagerness to learn and solve challenging problems.

What Youll Do

Software Development

• Develop andmodifyinternal and external facing software as part of engineering teams that may include internal team staff and external collaborators and/or contractors.

• Focus on developing backend software components and services which interact with upstream and downstream components (including front-end user interfaces and back-end data management and transformation processes and APIs).

• Develop reusable tools libraries and frameworks for data integration analysis and visualization that can be applied across multiple projects and initiatives.

• Produce high-quality code and software for data management publication aggregation and visualization withappropriate documentation.

• Ensure reproducibility accessibility and sustainability of Center-developed software and data systems.

• Participate in all aspects of the application development life cycle including specifications prototypes development quality assurance deployment and operations and maintenance.

• Design develop andmaintainefficient data pipelines that extract data from various data sources transform it into a unified data model and push it to a destination data storethrough strong collaboration with water land and housing domain experts to understand data sources and requirements.

• Develop end-to-end systems for data harmonization geocoding and integration of large heterogeneous datasets from diverse sources.

• Implement data validation and cleansing processes to ensure high data quality and integrity.

• Identifyand integratenew technologiesand tools to improve data processing and storage.

• Work closely with water domain experts to translate domain-specific needs into technical requirements.

• Create andmaintaindocumentation for data pipelines including data models ETL processes and data flow diagrams.

DevOps and Infrastructure

• Assume principal responsibility for CI/CD of web services as well as software and data releases.

• Support research development and operations by troubleshooting and resolving issues that arise.

• Take technical responsibility forsystems andbe on the lookout for opportunities for new systems improvement of existing systems and work with the team to keep systems scaling and performing optimally.

Collaboration and Growth

• Participate in team code reviews present your work forfeedbackand provideconstructive feedback to others.

• Clearly communicate technical capabilities limitations issues and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences including stakeholders partners and domain experts.

• Work collegially and successfully in interdisciplinary teams with colleagues from various topical backgrounds and different skill levels and communication levels.

• Contribute to grant proposals technical documentation and reports that support CGS and Internet of Water initiatives.

• Participate in training workshops and outreach activities to promote best practices in water data management and geospatial solutions.

WhatYoullNeed

Logistical and/orTechnical Skills

• Bachelors degree in computer science or a related field or equivalent practical experience

• 2-4 years of API development and documentation experience including complying withOpenAPI3.0 or other standards-based APIs

• Experience building data pipelines for large heterogeneous datasets from diverse sources

• Fluency in Python

• Proficiencyin relational databases and SQL

• Experience with designing developingdeployingandmonitoringdata systems(such as PostgreSQLDuckDB Snowflake Apache Spark)

• Proficiencywith Docker

• Experience contributing to open-source projects and using open standards

• Demonstrated application of reproducible software development practices including testing documentation and version control

• Experience with git or other source code control systems

• U.S. Citizen or legally authorized to work in the United States with no need for future sponsorship.

Soft Skills

• Collegial and able to work successfully in interdisciplinary teams with colleagues from various topical backgrounds and different skill levels and communication levels

• Exceptional critical thinking skills with the ability to deconstruct complex problems prioritize issues and implement sensible solutions

• Strong ability to communicate technical and computational concepts clearly to non-technical audiences including domain experts stakeholders and partners

• Self-motivated and goal-oriented with the ability to take an innovative strategic and analytical approach to research and collaboration

• Desire to learn new skills and solve problems

• Willingness and ability to learn new frameworks data structures and infrastructure

Desired

• Understanding of large high performance highly scalable highly resilient server-based architectures including replication/failover distributed architectures caches auto scaling sharding rate limiting and security

• Familiarity with geospatial data structures and infrastructure with emphasis on vector data( GDALPostGISGeoJSONGeoparquet)raster data management experience is a plus

• Familiarity with environmental social administrative data

• Familiarity with RDF knowledge graphs and JSON-LD

• Familiarity with ETL orchestration tools and frameworks ()

• Experience with CI/CD tools and methods

• Experience with public cloud providers such as AWS Google Cloud Platform andDigitalOcean including networking and serverless infrastructure

• Familiarity with theActivityPubprotocol

• Familiarity with JavaScript and at least one web framework such as Rails Django Vue React

• Familiarity with geospatial front-end frameworks ()

• Experience withdata visualization and dashboard frameworks (e.g. Dash Observable)

Our Benefits

Include but are not limited to (a) 3x employer contribution towards retirement matching your employee contribution up to 15% (b) health insurance (c) dental insurance (d) vision insurance (e) 100% reimbursement of the health care deductible through a health reimbursement account (f) short-term disability coverage (g) long term disability coverage (h) paid parental leave (i) voluntary insurances such as accident insurance (j) health care flexible spending (k) dependent care flexible spending (l) paid time off for holidays vacation personal sick bereavement and jury duty (m) office closure between December 24 Jan 1 each calendar year (n) flexible schedule and option for a compressed 4 day workweek (o) tuition and staff development reimbursement (p) pet insurance and (q) Employee Assistance Program.

Application Process

Please submit a cover letter and resume. The cover letter should succinctly describe your interest to join the team; why you are qualified; and what relevant expertise and experience you offer. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Compensation Overview

The salary market range for this role is posted above and dependent on level of education and years of experience. We value internal and external equity and encourage those who may be missing qualifications to submit their materials still.

Our Values

Cooperation and TeamworkForthright FeedbackInitiativeAcceptance of ResponsibilityMulticultural Sensitivity

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is dedicated to creating an inclusive work environment by hiring training promoting and carrying out personnel procedures with respect to compensation benefits transfers layoffs or terminations on the basis of individual merit experience and ability without regard to race (including traits historically associated with race such as hair texture length of hair protective hairstyles or cultural or religious headdresses) color religion national origin age sex (including pregnancy childbirth or related medical conditions) ancestry citizenship status gender identity or expression genetic information marital or domestic/civil partnership status physical or mental disability sexual orientation veteran status military service serious medical condition expunged juvenile record personal appearance family responsibilities matriculation political affiliation status as a victim credit information homelessness status reproductive health decision making or any other characteristic protected by law or otherwise.

Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about discussed or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge (b) in furtherance of an investigation proceeding hearing or action including an investigation conducted by the employer or (c) consistent with the contractors legal duty to furnish information.

Non-Smoking Organization

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a Non-Smoking organization. Smoking and the use of tobacco products are prohibited at all times and on all property owned leased or under the control of Lincoln Institute of Land Policy at all times including but not limited to indoor and outdoor grounds walkways and sidewalks parking lots company vehicles and private vehicles parked on Lincoln Institute of Land Policy property.

MA Polygraph Statement

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.