Senior Software Engineer (Geospatial AI)

Nabat; Abu Dhabi Emirate; On-site; AED 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A climate-tech startup is seeking a Senior Software Engineer in Abu Dhabi to lead the development of its ecosystem management platform. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in GIS and AI, and will work on innovative solutions to address environmental challenges. This role comes with generous relocation benefits and the chance to make a significant impact in the field of climate restoration.

Benefits

Generous relocation benefits

Visa sponsorship

Work with global R&D team

Qualifications

• Extensive, hands-on development experience in GIS and AI.
• Experience with geospatial data analysis and visualization.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end software development lifecycle.
• Design and implement robust AI/ML-powered systems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver initiatives.

Skills

Geospatial data processing

AI/ML model development

Python

Communication skills

Problem-solving skills

Tools

ArcGIS

QGIS

PostgreSQL

AWS

GeoPandas

Job description

Senior Software Engineer (Geospatial AI)

Nabat Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates

Nabat is a climate-tech startup based in the UAE using advanced technology to protect and restore natural ecosystems with precision and scale! We operate at the intersection of ecological & environmental sciences, GIS, AI, and robotics. Our mission is to enable data-driven, science-backed ecosystem management and restoration at the speed and scale necessary to address the critical challenges of climate change, deforestation, land erosion, and biodiversity loss. Our comprehensive solution - consisting of ecosystem management software, precision aerial seeding drones, AI & ecological models, and restoration services - is already being used to plant millions of mangroves in the UAE. But we’re just getting started, as we build our platform to serve the needs of coastal, marine and arid ecosystems around the world.

If this mission resonates with you, let’s talk.

What is the role?

We’re building our product development team from the ground up and are looking for highly talented, self-driven Senior Software Engineers with proven GIS and AI experience and a passion for solving big complex problems in the nature, climate and geospatial tech space.

Relocation to the UAE is required – generous relocation benefits and visa sponsorship (for the employee and their family) will be provided.

Your responsibilities will include :

• Own the end-to-end software development lifecycle for Nabat’s ecosystem management platform as a senior / staff-level individual contributor. From conception, through discovery, design, proof of concept, development, launch and continuous iteration.
• Design and implement well-architected, scalable, robust, high-performance, AI / ML-powered systems for ingestion, storage, processing, analysis, insight extraction, and visualization of large amounts of geospatial time-series data (geotagged, ultra-high-resolution RGB, multi- and hyper-spectral imagery, KML files, LIDAR point clouds, etc from satellites and drones).
• Write, test and support production code and maintain cloud services in your capacity as a full stack, backend, frontend, platform / infrastructure or data engineer – we're open to different specializations to round out the team.
• Work with AI engineers / data scientists and ecologists to develop, train, validate, refine and deploy AI models in production while meeting pre-defined performance criteria.
• Ideate and iterate on new and existing features, coming up with technically viable solutions, developing PoCs and prototypes to validate, and turning them into production-ready features and services that meet real-world user needs.
• Communicate and collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, data scientists, HW engineers, ecologists, GIS data analysts, drone pilots, operations folks, and end users to deliver key initiatives.
• Knowledge transfer from and continuous engagement with researchers (from Technology Innovation Institute) and external partners to understand and take ownership of what has been built to date, become the subject matter expert for your product domain, and lead the research & development roadmap for your domain.

What are we looking for?

• Technical prowess: You have extensive, hands-on development experience with, and an informed opinion on, many of the following tools, libraries, and frameworks in the modern Geospatial AI tech stack.
• Geospatial data processing, analysis, and visualization tools: Python, ArcGIS, QGIS, Grass GIS, Mapbox, Leaflet, GDAL, GeoPandas, etc. Bonus: You know who Matt Forrest is.
• AI / ML model development and engineering: familiarity with machine learning techniques, models and frameworks for image analysis, object detection, semantic segmentation, prediction, anomaly detection, or similar using large geospatial datasets (RGB, multi- and hyper-spectral drone imagery, LIDAR point clouds, satellite imagery, etc).
• Cloud platforms: experience using AWS, GCP, or Azure for geospatial data storage and processing.
• Data storage, query, caching and pipeline tools: GDAL, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, GeoParquet, Sedona, Kafka, BigQuery, RabbitMQ, Redis, etc. You can explain the difference between GeoTIFF and GeoJSON!
• Monitoring and logging tools: Datadog, Kibana, Grafana, Sentry, Splunk, etc.
• Nice to have: experience integrating with cameras, robotics, IoT / sensor devices or other hardware.
• Builder / entrepreneur mindset: You've created something meaningful from the ground up - whether leading a project, founding a venture, or crafting an impressive side project that demonstrates your initiative.
• Communication excellence: You articulate ideas clearly and document thoroughly, understanding that transparent communication is fundamental to our collaborative approach.
• Bias for action and execution: You move with purpose and velocity, driving for impact rather than perfection. You're comfortable making decisions and failing fast when necessary to achieve results. You prioritize shipping and iterating over endless conceptualizing.
• Problem-solving aptitude: You approach challenges with creativity and pragmatism, finding elegant solutions that balance technical constraints with user needs.
• Nice to haves: previous experience building products in the domain of geospatial AI, remote sensing, earth observation, environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, or drone robotics.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to

• Join a well-funded early-stage tech startup at the intersection of some of the most exciting, disruptive and innovative technologies in the world - geospatial AI, remote sensing, drone robotics, ecology & agricultural science.
• Design, build and shape a product from the ground up using your unique skills and expertise.
• Work with a truly international and world-class R&D team both within Nabat and in collaboration with 1200+ researchers, scientists and technologists in the larger Advanced Technology Research Council (https://www.atrc.gov.ae/), Technology Innovation Institute (https://www.tii.ae/), and VentureOne (https://www.ventureone.ae/) ecosystem.
• Relocate to Abu Dhabi – one of the safest, most livable, expat-friendly cities in the world - with an “all inclusive” relocation package for you and your family, that includes work & residence visa sponsorship, business class flights, orientation tour, school and house search, and luxury hotel stay until you find your new home.
• Make a real and direct impact to solving the most critical challenges of our time – climate change and ecosystem loss!

What is the hiring process like?

We believe in making your hiring and onboarding seamless and transparent. Here is what to expect from us :

• Initial screening call with a member of our Talent team to ensure expectations and experience aligns.
• First interview with hiring manager about the role and ask questions – Taha Ghaznavi, Chief Product Officer, Nabat.
• Second interview with technical team member(s) to assess your capabilities. Might include a coding test and/or small case study.
• Third interview with a senior leader to assess culture fit and give you opportunity to meet your future stakeholders.
• Hiring decision and conditional offer.
• Background check and final offer.
• Relocation to the UAE and onboarding!

Apply with your CV and tell us what makes you & your experience a great fit for Nabat.

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Employment type: Full-time

Industry: Technology, Information and Internet

Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Salary: AED150,000.00-AED180,000.00 per year

Note: The job posting is active and not expired.