Geospatial Data Systems Researcher – Satellite Analysis

POLSUB; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in Sydney is seeking a Graduate Researcher, Geospatial Analysis and Data Systems to help build research infrastructure and establish a satellite analysis programme. The role centers on developing internal data pipelines and processing workflows to support peace and development research.

You will work with the Chief Research Officer and researchers across regional offices, applying Python, SQL and cloud-based tooling to deliver reproducible analyses for

Qualifications

• Master's degree or higher in a quantitative field; exceptional undergrad considered.
• Strong Python programming, including scientific/data stack (pandas, NumPy).
• Working knowledge of SQL and relational databases; PostgreSQL preferred.
• Solid understanding of statistics and quantitative research methods.
• Ability to scope loosely defined problems and deliver working results with limited supervision.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills; ability to explain methods to non-technical colleagues.
• Interest in peace, conflict and development research.

Responsibilities

• Scope, design and prioritise satellite analysis projects with the Chief Research Officer.
• Ingest, preprocess and manage satellite imagery, including optical, SAR and night-time lights assets.
• Develop methods to extract peace- and development-relevant metrics from imagery (change detection, land use, built-environment).
• Build reproducible processing pipelines and document methods for publication.
• Produce analysis, figures and written findings for IEP reports and partner deliverables.
• Ingest, clean and harmonise datasets for IEP's internal database; maintain data quality checks.

Skills

Python

SQL

PostgreSQL

Statistics

Communication skills

Geospatial data

Education

Master's degree in computer science/data science/geography/statistics/economics

Tools

GDAL

GeoPandas

QGIS

Azure

Job description

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in Sydney is seeking a Graduate Researcher, Geospatial Analysis and Data Systems to help build research infrastructure and establish a satellite analysis programme. The role centers on developing internal data pipelines and processing workflows to support peace and development research.

You will work with the Chief Research Officer and researchers across regional offices, applying Python, SQL and cloud-based tooling to deliver reproducible analyses for