Lead Geospatial Data Scientist

Key Skills

Apache Airflow, AWS, Azure, Docker, Python Programming, Streaming APIs, UI design, UX design

Job Description

What is Sylvera anyway?

Sylvera provides carbon data for genuine climate impact. Our mission is to incentivize investment in real climate action.

Purchasing credits through the carbon markets is one of the most established and scalable ways to channel finance from the private sector to effective climate solutions and work toward societal net zero. Unfortunately, the voluntary carbon markets have been plagued with mistrust and a lack of effectiveness since they’ve emerged – until Sylvera.

To help organizations ensure they're making the most effective investments, Sylvera builds software that independently and accurately automates the evaluation of carbon projects that capture, remove, or avoid emissions. With Sylvera's data and tools, businesses and governments can confidently invest in, benchmark, deliver, and report real climate impact.

Our team is made up of the leading minds in climate change from scientists to academics. We work in partnership with scientific organisations, universities, governments and think tanks to develop and test rigorous and holistic ratings methodologies, leveraging the latest technology. Founded in 2020, Sylvera has 150+ employees across the world with offices in London, New York and Belgrade. We’ve raised over $96million from leading VCs like Balderton Capital, Index Ventures and Insight Partners to date.

What will I be doing? ‍‍

We’re looking for mission-driven, Lead Geospatial Data Scientist to join our Geospatial Analytics function and bring advanced geospatial analysis techniques at scale and project leadership. As the Squad Lead / Geospatial Data Scientist within our Geospatial Analytics team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of climate action. You will lead the REDD+ and ARR projects squad efforts to analyze and assess the carbon offset projects using geospatial data and techniques. Your expertise in geospatial analysis, data science, and leadership will drive our mission of providing reliable carbon offset ratings and trustworthy information to guide investments on impactful climate actions. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Leadership and Vision: Lead a cross-functional team of geospatial data scientists and analysts to provide accurate and insightful evaluations of REDD+ and ARR carbon offset projects. Thriving in driving the vision for innovative approaches, technologies, and tools that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of geospatial analysis processes, while fostering a culture of continuous learning. Provide mentorship, guidance, and facilitate collaboration within the team.
• Geospatial Analysis and Product Design: As a Lead Geospatial Data Scientist you'll be hands-on developing new features or improving existing ones. From requirements gathering, to end-to-end data workflows, as a squad leader you'll oversee the research, design and development of scalable, geospatial data products that leverage advanced geospatial data science techniques, including causal inference methods and machine learning applied to ecology. Specifically, you will be in charge of updating and delivering geospatial statistics to assess REDD+ and ARR projects.
• Scalability: we are looking for a candidate who can help us scaling our geospatial analytics solutions by leveraging on orchestration tools, contributing to our internal geospatial libraries, and building APIs interfaces.
• Continuous learning and improvement: Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in geospatial analytics, carbon offset methodologies, and environmental assessment techniques. Continuously innovate to improve the accuracy and depth of our analysis. Help attract talents by promoting sharing knowledge publicly and collaboration with external stakeholders.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Working closely with our ML and Ratings teams, you will leverage your expertise to integrate cutting-edge geospatial analysis insights into our broader suite of climate impact evaluation tools.

We’re looking for someone who:

• Proven experience (4+ years) in geospatial analysis, working with raster and vector data. Experience with machine learning and causal inference ideally applied to environmental impact assessments, or related domains.
• Previous experience operating with agile development methodologies.
• Strong programming skills in Python with demonstrated experience in developing sophisticated geospatial algorithms. Familiarity with Airflow is a plus.
• Experience with building APIs interfaces
• Leadership experience, including managing teams and leading geospatial projects.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex geospatial concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• An understanding of carbon offset methodologies, emissions accounting, and sustainability principles is a plus.
• Cares deeply about the climate and ecosystems of the earth.
• Is a self-starter who thrives in constantly evolving environments, ideally with early-stage experience.
• We’d like someone highly ambitious, motivated and eager to propel their career forward. - We prioritise grit, positivity, and the willingness to get stuck in, and encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't exactly match this job description.
• We’d like someone highly ambitious, motivated and eager to propel their career forward. We prioritise grit, positivity, and the willingness to get stuck in, and encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't exactly match this job description

Benefits

• Equity in a rapidly growing startup
• No corners cut in having the best tech to do your job
• Unlimited annual leave - and encouragement to actually use it!
• Enhanced parental leave
• Up to 20 days paid sick leave

• £500 WFH allowance
• Access to Mental Health support via Spill
• Monthly team socials

Location

UK (with access to an office in London if you wanted to come in)

Our Values

Own it: We believe in giving people the autonomy to own their impact.

Stay curious: Our business is built on transparency and debunking misperceptions.

Do what’s right - even when it’s hard: The right path isn’t always easy or obvious.

Collaborate with kindness: Great teams are built on open communication and respect.

What if you’re a partial fit?

We prioritise grit, positivity, and the willingness to get stuck in, and encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't exactly match this job description.

Equal employment opportunity

Sylvera is an equal opportunity employer: we value diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.