Geospatial Research Analyst

Leafiot Technology; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 550,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Leafiot Technology seeks an intellectually curious Geospatial Research Analyst to join our applied research and technology team. You will bridge spatial data science, urban forestry management, and climate-resilient urban design, analyzing sensor data, LiDAR, satellite imagery, and spatial topologies to evaluate canopy health and model microclimatic impacts.

The role involves cross-border collaboration, site visits, and authoring technical briefs for international smart green city projects, with

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or Bachelor’s with significant research experience in Geomatics, GIS, Urban Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, Remote Sensing, or related quantitative field.
• Advanced proficiency in GIS ecosystems (QGIS, ArcGIS Pro).
• Strong spatial programming skills in Python (geopandas, rasterio, shapely, xarray) or R (sf, terra).

Responsibilities

• Urban Canopy & Forest Modeling: conduct spatial modeling on urban trees, canopy coverage, biomass, and microclimate mitigation.
• Sensor & Spatial Data Fusion: synthesize IoT sensors, satellite imagery, drone data, and LiDAR into coherent spatial models.
• Urban Design Integration: collaborate with urban designers to translate geospatial insights into master-planning parameters.
• Academic & Technical Authorship: form hypotheses, review literature, and author white papers and grant deliverables.
• Cross-Border Project Delivery: interface with overseas partners and municipal stakeholders.
• Site Visits & Overseas Deployment: conduct field deployments and evaluate ground conditions.
• Stakeholder Translation: present complex spatial stats and GIS workflows as clear visuals for diverse audiences.
• Rapid Tool Adoption: evaluate and integrate emerging spatial computing frameworks and open-source toolchains.

Skills

GIS software

Python

R

Remote sensing

Cloud platforms

Communication

Education

Master’s degree or Bachelor’s with significant research experience

Tools

QGIS

ArcGIS Pro

Google Earth Engine

Job description

We are seeking an intellectually curious, agile Geospatial Research Analyst to join our applied research and technology team. In this role, you will bridge spatial data science, urban forestry management, and climate-resilient urban design. You will analyze environmental sensor datasets, LiDAR, satellite imagery, and spatial topologies to evaluate urban canopy health, model microclimatic impacts, and develop evidence-based spatial strategies for international smart green city projects.

This is a research-driven role requiring close collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, regular communication with cross-border stakeholders, and opportunities for short-term work or site assessments abroad.

Key ResponsibilitiesApplied Research & Spatial Analytics

• Urban Canopy & Forest Modeling: Conduct spatial modeling on urban tree populations, canopy coverage dynamics, biomass estimation, and microclimate mitigation (e.g., urban heat island buffering, stormwater interception).
• Sensor & Spatial Data Fusion: Synthesize diverse data layers—including real-time IoT environmental sensors, multi-spectral satellite imagery, drone survey data, and terrestrial/aerial LiDAR point clouds—into coherent spatial models.
• Urban Design Integration: Collaborate with urban designers, arborists, and landscape planners to evaluate proposed development scenarios and translate geospatial insights into actionable master-planning parameters.
• Academic & Technical Authorship: Formulate research hypotheses, conduct rigorous literature reviews, and author white papers, technical briefs, and grant/project deliverables detailing methodology and outcomes.

Global Collaboration & Field Exposure

• Cross-Border Project Delivery: Interface with overseas academic partners, government agencies, and municipal stakeholders across international project sites.
• Site Visits & Overseas Deployment: Conduct scheduled overseas site visits to oversee spatial survey deployments, calibrate local data collection frameworks, and evaluate ground conditions.

Communication & Knowledge Sharing

• Stakeholder Translation: Synthesize complex spatial statistics and machine learning/GIS workflows into clear visual dashboards, presentations, and non-technical summaries for public and executive audiences.
• Rapid Tool Adoption: Quickly evaluate and integrate emerging spatial computing frameworks, remote sensing platforms, and open-source geospatial toolchains into the team’s research pipeline.

Candidate Qualifications Category Requirements EducationMaster’s degree or Bachelor’s with significant research experience in Geomatics, GIS, Urban Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning, Remote Sensing, or a related quantitative field.

Technical Core

• Advanced proficiency in GIS ecosystems (QGIS, ArcGIS Pro).
• Strong spatial programming skills in Python (geopandas, rasterio, shapely, xarray) or R (sf, terra).
• Experience processing remote sensing imagery (Sentinel, Landsat, Planet) or cloud-based spatial engines (Google Earth Engine).

Domain Knowledge

• Understanding of urban ecosystem services, tree risk assessment frameworks, or dendrological metrics.
• Familiarity with urban spatial analytics and environmental simulation tools (e.g., ENVI-met, i-Tree Eco, Grasshopper/Ladybug).

Soft Skills & Mobility

• Communication: Outstanding bilingual/multilingual verbal and written presentation skills; confident in pitching research findings to external stakeholders.
• Learning Agility: Proven capacity to independently learn new software libraries, sensor protocols, or spatial methodologies on short cycles.
• Global Mobility: Willingness and valid documentation to travel and work abroad periodically for international research phases and site workshops.