Applied Spatial Data Scientist, Global Science

**OFFICE LOCATION**:
The work location for this position is flexible within locations where The Nature Conservancy has an established office. The headquarters of TNC is located in Arlington, Virginia.

PDN

LI-REMOTE

**WHO WE ARE**:
The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to tackle the twin crises of climate and biodiversity. As a science-based organization, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges in pursuit of a world in which people and nature thrive. We’re rooted in our Mission and guided by our Values, which includes a Commitment to Diversity and Respect for People, Communities, and Cultures. Whether it’s career development, flexible schedules, or a rewarding mission, there’s lots of reasons to love life #insideTNC. Want a better insight to TNC? Check out our TNC Talent playlist on YouTube or on Glassdoor.

**WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE TOGETHER**:
**WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU**:
The Global Science Applied Spatial Data Scientist will collaborate with teams from across the Conservancy to collect, process, and analyze geospatial data; build models; interpret and synthesize results; lead and support the timely development of peer-reviewed publications; and provide technical training and capacity-building to support regional science capacity. They will work on a range of projects and topics that address pressing and evolving needs facing the Conservancy’s regional and global efforts. Projects may include contributing to connectivity modelling for conservation planning and monitoring; landscape /seascape planning to promote cost-effective conservation and sustainable development; measuring species and ecosystem responses to area-based interventions at landscape scales; and evaluating trade-offs to determine the optimal benefits of land protection, regenerative agriculture, natural climate solutions, among other conservation interventions.

The Applied Spatial Data Scientist’s Responsibilities & Scope include:

- Work collaboratively to develop tractable geospatial analytical solutions to conservation problems.
- Acquisition, processing, modelling, quality control, integration, and management of spatial and tabular data, coordinating data delivery to and from collaborators.
- Conduct independent advanced spatial and statistical analyses of conservation data, interpret results, and synthesize findings.
- Provide technical training, capacity-building, and research expertise to regional and country teams, to foster scientific careers and build scientific expertise locally.
- Foster internal and external collaborations with TNC business units, universities, and project partners.
- Maintain scientific credibility through applied research, peer reviewed publications, and collaboration with diverse research partners/users.
- Report and communicate on project impact to TNC and project partners.
- Being self-motivated in ongoing learning so that skills remain current.
- Work in a complex matrix organization environment.
- Being willing to travel locally, regionally, and internationally as required to meet project and strategy needs.

**WHAT YOU'LL BRING**:

- A minimum of a master’s degree in science-related field and at least 6 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Experience using code-driven analytical tools (e.g., R, Python, Julia, etc.) to manipulate and analyze both spatial and tabular data.
- Broad expertise in scientific computing, and demonstrated ability to leverage cutting-edge tools (e.g., high-performance and cloud computing; parallelization and distributed computing; code optimization) when needed to solve problems.
- Experience using a variety of GIS, both proprietary (e.g., ArcGIS Pro, Google Earth Engine) and open source (e.g., QGIS, Python, R, Julia, PostGIS, GRASS) to maintain data repositories and complete geospatial analyses.
- Experience directing a major program of strategic importance and working with a multi-disciplinary team.
- Excellent organizational skills and communication skills, written, spoken and graphical.
- Experience fundraising and/or writing grants and research proposals.
- Fluency in English, written and spoken.

**DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS**
- PhD in natural resources, environmental sciences, landscape ecology, or other spatial science-related field and at least 1 year of experience in a professional, scientific setting or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Demonstrated use and promotion of best practices for open, reproducible research (e.g., use of Git and GitHub to store and share analyses and tools; use of online repositories to archive open data; use of executable documents, such as R Markdown or Jupyter Notebooks to share and explain results; publication of open-source software packages).
- Working knowledge of analysis of remotely sensed data and image processing using software packages, such as ERDAS or ENVI and Google Earth Engine a plus.
- At least 3 years of experience pro