THE NATURAL CAPITAL PROJECT
Position Announcement
LEAD SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
Are you a software whiz looking for
responsibility, independence, and the opportunity
to solve our biggest environmental problems? Do
you want to work in the vibrant Stanford campus
with internal access to the intellectual and
entrepreneurial heartbeat of its community?
We are a highly collaborative group of
researchers who need expertise to translate our
biophysical and economic models into easy, useful
tools for policy makers. We seek a lead software
developer to help us make a global impact on
major decisions about human well-being,
sustainability, and the use of our lands and waters.
We are a partnership among The Nature
Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Institute on
the Environment at the University of Minnesota,
and Stanford University developing tools to model
and map the distribution of biodiversity and the
flow of multiple ecosystem services across land-
and seascapes. Our core team is based in Seattle,
Washington, DC and at Stanford, and we have active partners around the globe.
We seek a talented and experienced software
developer with strong leadership and
communication skills to lead the development of
the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem
Services and Tradeoffs) family of software tools.
Principal Responsibilities:
Design and implement a software development
strategy for the Natural Capital Project,
including management of the immediacies of an
existing platform (ArcGIS (spatial analyst and
python) and transition to Google Earth Engine),
while taking a long-term view in designing a future platform:
o Maintenance of the existing platform will
include new model implementation, users guide
updates, releases, organization and leadership of
trainings, management of online technical support: invest.ecoinformatics.org).
o Transition to a new platform will focus on an
architecture based on solid technologies and
principles that are robust, adaptable and allow for evolution.
Recruit, hire, and manage a user interface
developer and a programmer/GIS analyst to assist
with software development and support.
Organize and conduct focus group meetings with
our partners and additional stakeholders to
assess user needs, summarize findings, recommend
adjustments to software, and implement changes.
Participate in software application to land-use
planning decisions with policy makers in China and Latin America.
Required Qualifications:
M.S. or Ph.D. in computer science or related discipline.
7 years experience in software development
Strong understanding of software architecture and
design, including developing platforms that
access diverse online and desktop data sources.
Expertise in algorithms and data structure for complex scientific computing.
Extensive programming experience in multiple
languages, particularly Python, C++, Fortran and Matlab.
Proficiency using ArcGIS, including Spatial Analyst and geoprocessing.
Experience with GDAL and GRASS or other open-source GIS software.
Experience managing a software development team.
Experience working with collaborators from
diverse backgrounds and the capacity and interest
to work with interdisciplinary teams.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
with both technical and non-technical audiences.
Preferred Qualifications:
8+ years experience in software development
Experience estimating and visualizing uncertainty
in spatially explicit models.
Experience with ecological, hydrological,
agricultural or oceanographic models .
Term: November 1, 2010 through June 30, 2013 and
beyond, contingent upon funding.
Location: The position is located in Palo Alto,
California at Stanford University and will
require extensive interaction with
interdisciplinary teams and travel within the US, China and Latin America.
How to Apply: To assure your application
information is captured in our official files and
that the hiring department also has immediate
access to your resume, you must apply to
jobs.stanford.edu, Job #39690. We will begin
reviewing application September 13, 2010 and the
position will remain open until filled.
Stanford University is committed to equal
opportunity through affirmative action in
employment and we are especially eager to
identify minority persons and women with appropriate qualifications.
More information on the project can be found at
www.naturalcapitalproject.org and invest.ecoinformatics.org.
