The Remote Sensing Specialist will lead in the development of the technical capabilities for remote sensing within Natural State. The incumbent will work with the technical team and stakeholders to develop a set of remote-sensing based models to monitor changes in Carbon, Biodiversity and Social wellbeing and inform verification data requirements needed to underpin financial mechanisms.
The Remote Sensing Specialist will spearhead Natural State's efforts to build strategic partnerships to leverage worldclass remote sensing expertise and state-of-the-art remote sensing data and products for integration with Natural State's Impact Monitoring systems. The incumbent will work closely with the technical, biometrics, carbon and restoration programs teams to build Natural State's internal remote sensing capabilities, to contract bespoke remote sensing product development to third-party entities, and to deliver usable outputs for restoration partners.
This is a senior technical role, for which the incumbent is expected to be technically proficient and have a track record of developing deployable remote sensing products. The incumbent is expected to be able to be self-motivated and work remotely, while ensuring their work quality maintains the highest standards. Attention to detail regarding data analysis and data management are crucial.
Core functions include:
Initiate and coordinate myriad collaborations and consultancies to develop best-in-class methods for monitoring changes in biodiversity, soil, carbon and social well-being via satellite and aerial remote sensing.
The Remote Sensing Specialist will work with the wider IM team and external collaborators to identify potential partners for delivering best-in-class models of standing carbon, soil carbon, ecosystem intactness, vegetation structure, ecosystem services (e.g., energy provisioning) and social wellbeing. The Remote Sensing Specialist will then coordinate projects to deliver functional models that can be integrated intouKweli, Natural State's data management platform.
Maintain a long-term remote sensing strategy.
The Remote Sensing Specialist will continuously conduct horizon scans to identify emergent remote sensing products and technologies that can advance Natural State's mission to revolutionise impact monitoring for restoration and nature-based solutions. The Remote Sensing Specialist will work closely with the Restoration Programs and Financial Mechanisms teams to identify how remote sensing capabilities best meet market demands for verifiable, scalable, cost-effective impact monitoring. The Remote Sensing Specialist will advise senior management on resource allocation based on short-, mid- and long-term developments in remote sensing capabilities.
Streamline and augment Natural State's internal capacity for managing and analysing remote sensing data.
The Remote Sensing Specialist will work with the wider IM team and external collaborators to automate the application of open access remote sensing products to predictive models of species richness, population abundance and biomass in theuKweliplatform. This work will entail programming cloud-based applications to automatically acquire, standardise and extract remote sensing datasets both at specific field sampling locations and across broader landscapes, as well as identifying the best available remote sensing datasets and derived products to incorporate into predictive models. The Remote Sensing Specialist will further build capacity within Natural State by training the Spatial Data Officer, the Head of Project Implementation and the Natural State Field Researchers in remote sensing data management and processing.
In addition, the Remote Sensing Specialist will be expected to:
Ensure that NS remote sensing analyses meet the strictest scientific standards of reproducibility and robustness.
Maintain meticulous documentation of all remote sensing datasets and data streams.
Input into proposals, project design documents and standard operating procedures.
Contribute to reports, publications and white papers.
Work with the Director of Impact Monitoring to design and implement the Natural State remote sensing strategy and resourcing plan.
Requirements
Minimum requirements for the position:
PhD in remote sensing or equivalent and at least 5 years of work experience, or a Master's Degree in Geospatial Information Science and related fields. and at least 10 years of work experience.
Demonstrable experience developing remote sensing products.
Strong geospatial analysis and programming skills, including proficiency in Python and Earth Engine.
Up to date with current remote sensing products and trends in remote sensing.
Familiarity and experience with the use of machine learning techniques in developing remote sensing products (e.g., Remote Sensing Foundation Models, Neural Networks, Vision Transformers, Random Forests, Support Vector Machines).
A good understanding of cloud-based infrastructure and deployment of spatial products into a production environment.
Strong publication record in peer reviewed journals.
Strong academic network and proven ability to collaborate.
Fluency in spoken and written English.