Geospatial Analyst, Geomatics Engineering

University of Calgary; Calgary; On-site; CAD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Calgary within the Schulich School of Engineering invites applications for a Geospatial Analyst. This full-time fixed-term position is for approximately 6 months with possible extension.

The role supports gravity- and magnetic-aided navigation and involves processing large airborne datasets and delivering reproducible results. Ideal candidates have a degree in geomatics/geophysics or related fields, strong Python/MATLAB skills, and experience with GIS tools.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Geomatics Engineering, Geophysics, Geodesy, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field.
• Diploma in GIS/geomatics or related technical field with at least two years of relevant experience.
• Experience with geospatial data processing, scientific programming (Python or MATLAB), and large spatial datasets.
• Equivalent education/experience considered; graduate degree is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Obtain, organize and catalogue the AER/AGS airborne gravity and magnetic datasets and associated metadata.
• Verify units, coordinate/reference systems and perform quality-control checks on line and gridded data.
• Execute PI-defined geodetic processing workflows to produce navigation-relevant gravity products.
• Analyze the released airborne magnetic data and generate gridded magnetic-anomaly products for navigation simulations.
• Bring gravity and magnetic products onto common spatial reference, resolution and file conventions.
• Identify overlapping coverage areas and compare gravity results with available benchmarks.
• Adapt and execute PI-provided workflows for synthetic map-matching navigation.
• Generate trajectories and simulate gravity-only, magnetic-only and combined gravity-magnetic scenarios.
• Deliver organized processed datasets, scripts and logs for reproducibility.
• Provide progress updates and maintain version-controlled code and data.

Skills

Geospatial data processing

Python

MATLAB

Data visualization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Geomatics Engineering, Geophysics, Geodesy, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field

Diploma in GIS/geomatics or related technical field with 2+ years of experience

Tools

Geosoft Oasis Montaj

QGIS

GDAL

Job description

Description

Geomatics Engineering within the Schulich School of Engineering invites applications for a Geospatial Analyst. This Full-time Fixed Termposition is for approximately 6 months (based on length of grant funding), with the possibility of extension.

The position reports to the Principal Investigator (PI), and provides skilled computational, geospatial and geophysical data-processing support for a research project on gravity- and magnetic-aided navigation. Work is performed under the PI's general direction using defined project objectives and established geodetic/geophysical processing methods. The incumbent will organize and process large airborne gravity and magnetic datasets, execute numerical processing and simulation workflows, troubleshoot data/software issues, and deliver reproducible processed datasets and technical results according to project milestones.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

(job functions include but are not limited to):

• Obtain, organize and catalogue the AER/AGS airborne gravity and magnetic datasets and associated metadata.
• Convert source files as required, verify units and coordinate/reference systems, identify missing or inconsistent records, and perform documented quality-control checks on line and gridded data.
• Execute PI-defined geodetic processing workflows to produce navigation-relevant gravity products. Tasks may include normal-gravity/free-air reduction, terrain-effect processing using digital elevation models, removal/restoration of long-wavelength global-model components, interpolation/gridding, crossover or residual analysis, and preparation of gravity disturbance/anomaly products in standardized formats.
• Analyze the released airborne magnetic data, verify or apply standard reference-field/levelling and coordinate transformations where required by the supplied products, perform quality checks, and generate consistent gridded magnetic-anomaly products suitable for comparison and navigation simulations.
• Bring gravity and magnetic products onto common spatial reference, resolution and file conventions.
• Identify areas of overlapping coverage; compare gravity results with available terrestrial benchmarks and reference models as directed by the PI; calculate summary statistics and uncertainty/quality indicators.
• Adapt and execute PI-provided or open-source computational workflows for synthetic map-matching navigation.
• Generate representative trajectories and sensor/INS error scenarios, and run gravity-only, magnetic-only and combined gravity-magnetic simulations in areas with suitable overlapping coverage using methods such as ICCP and, where applicable, EKF-based estimation.
• Evaluate positioning error and sensitivity to map resolution, sensor noise, trajectory geometry and coverage. Produce quantitative comparison tables, maps and plots for the PI, including comparisons between processed high-resolution reference fields and legacy/reference products where requested.
• Deliver organized processed datasets and grids (for example GeoTIFF, ASCII/CSV and/or Geosoft-compatible formats as appropriate), documented scripts, configuration files, metadata, processing logs and concise technical notes sufficient for the workflows to be reproduced by the research team.
• Provide regular progress updates, flag data or software issues promptly, maintain version-controlled code/data organization where appropriate, and prepare figures, tables and documented findings that may be used in project reports, presentations and research publications.

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Geomatics Engineering, Geophysics, Geodesy, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field;
• A diploma in GIS, geomatics, information technology, computer science, or a related technical field, together with at least two years of relevant experience, will be considered.
• Experience with geospatial data processing, scientific programming (e.g., Python or MATLAB), and large spatial datasets is an asset.
• An equivalent combination of education and relevant technical experience will be considered. A graduate degree is an asset but is not required.
• Demonstrated experience with numerical and geospatial data analysis using Python and/or MATLAB, including scripting, data transformation, visualization and quality control.
• Working knowledge of GIS/geospatial software and spatial reference systems. Experience with Geosoft Oasis Montaj, QGIS, GDAL or comparable geoscience/geospatial tools is an asset.
• Knowledge of gravity and/or magnetic data processing, gridding/interpolation, filtering or spectral analysis. Familiarity with physical geodesy procedures such as normal gravity, gravity disturbances/anomalies, terrain effects, remove-compute-restore processing, validation and uncertainty assessment is an asset.
• Familiarity with inertial navigation, map matching, Kalman filtering, ICCP or related navigation-simulation methods is an asset.
• Ability to work with large datasets and maintain organized, reproducible workflows. Experience with Linux, high-performance computing and version-control tools is an asset.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to document technical procedures, communicate results clearly, and work effectively with the PI and research team.

Application Deadline:

October 15, 2026

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.

This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the Technical Job Family, Phase 2.

For a listing of all management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Management and Staff Careers website.

About the University of Calgary

UCalgary is Canada's entrepreneurial university, located in Canada's most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada's leader in the creation of start-ups Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

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