Senior River Systems Engineer

The Ocean Cleanup; Rotterdam; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Ocean Cleanup seeks a River Systems Engineer to own site assessments end-to-end—from planning field campaigns to building analytical pipelines turning survey and sensor data into plastic-transport metrics for feasibility and deployment decisions.

You will synthesize hydrology, land use and remote-sensing data into cohesive site pictures, lead field campaigns, and mentor junior team members while collaborating with partners across government, NGOs and research institutions.

Qualifications

• MSc in a related engineering discipline.
• 7+ years field engineering and data analysis experience.
• Deep expertise in hydrometric methods and survey instrumentation (ADCP, flow meters, GPS/GNSS, IoT sensors).
• Strong GIS proficiency (QGIS/ArcGIS) with geospatial data processing and QA workflows.
• Solid Python skills and experience building data/ETL pipelines; version control.
• Track record of independently leading field campaigns and multi-domain analyses feeding feasibility/deployment decisions.
• Fluent in English; Spanish proficiency is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead river survey campaigns across multiple projects, planning fieldwork, deploying sensors, and coordinating teams and partners.
• Own the full data-to-decision pipeline for sites, turning field, sensor, and remote-sensing data into plastic-transport metrics.
• Build and maintain geospatial QA workflows for channel and catchment data.
• Run R&D on measurement and modelling methods to improve accuracy and efficiency.
• Synthesize hydrology, land use, waste management and remote-sensing data into site pictures; identify data gaps.
• Produce and contribute to Quick Scan, Baseline Field Assessment, and Solution Direction reports for senior decision-makers.
• Build and sustain partnerships with local government, NGOs, research institutions and technical partners.
• Provide technical mentorship to junior survey engineers and data scientists.
• Represent the Site Assessment Team in project and stakeholder discussions.

Skills

Hydrology

GIS (QGIS/ArcGIS)

Python

Data pipelines

English fluent

Spanish language

Field campaign leadership

Data analysis

Education

MSc in Hydrology, Water Resources Engineering, Environmental Science, Coastal/Marine Engineering, Geosciences, Data Science, or a related engineering discipline

Tools

ADCP

Flow meters

GPS/GNSS

IoT sensors

Databricks

Job description

POSTED: 30th September 2026
STARTING DATE: As soon as possible
FULL TIME, ROTTERDAM

Mission to Metrics

The Ocean Cleanup is a global nonprofit that develops and scales solutions to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, driving systemic change, and creating a lasting positive impact for people, wildlife, and the planet. As a River Systems Engineer, you own site assessments end to end from planning and leading field campaigns, to building the analytical pipelines that turn raw survey and sensor data into the plastic-transport metrics that drive feasibility and deployment decisions. You're equally comfortable digitizing a catchment in the field and building the model that turns that data into deployment-ready insight back at your desk, and you're trusted to make that judgment call on scope yourself.

Responsibilities

• Lead river survey campaigns across multiple projects simultaneously planning fieldwork, deploying sensors, and coordinating local teams, contractors, and partners.
• Own the full data-to-decision pipeline for your sites: turning field, sensor, and remote-sensing data into the plastic-transport metrics that feed feasibility and deployment decisions.
• Build and maintain the geospatial QA workflows that keep channel, catchment, and administrative layers internally consistent and know when a mismatch is a data problem vs. a real ground-truth gap.
• Run R&D on plastic-transport measurement and modelling methods to improve accuracy and efficiency of future assessments.
• Synthesize hydrology, land use, waste management, and community/remote-sensing data into a coherent system picture per site; identify data gaps and adapt methods to site-specific conditions rather than defaulting to standard protocol.
• Produce and directly contribute to Quick Scan, Baseline Field Assessment, and Solution Direction reports; translate multi-domain findings into recommendations engineering and senior decision-makers can act on.
• Build and sustain partnerships with local government, NGOs, research institutions, and technical partners to support site access, data quality, and long-term local capacity.
• Provide technical mentorship to more junior survey engineers and data scientists on the team.
• Represent the Site Assessment Team in project and stakeholder discussions.

Professional Qualifications

\"Even if you don't meet every professional qualification listed, we strongly encourage you to apply if you believe you have the right skills, experience, and motivation to contribute to our mission. We recognize that talent and potential come in many forms, and we value diverse perspectives and unconventional career paths. If you're passionate about the work we do and confident in your ability to make an impact, don't hesitate to submit your application—we'd love to hear from you\"

• MSc in Hydrology, Water Resources Engineering, Environmental Science, Coastal/Marine Engineering, Geosciences, Data Science, or a related engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of relevant experience, spanning both field engineering/hydrological monitoring and/or applied field data analysis.
• Deep expertise in hydrometric methods and survey instrumentation (ADCP, flow meters, GPS/GNSS, IoT sensors), including experience in novel or poorly characterized river systems.
• Strong GIS proficiency (QGIS/ArcGIS) required, including geospatial data processing and QA workflows.
• Solid Python skills with experience building data/ETL pipelines (Databricks or similar a plus); comfortable with version control.
• Track record independently leading field campaigns and multi-domain analyses that fed directly into feasibility or deployment decisions.
• Fluent in English; Proficient in Spanish (or relevant project-geography language) a strong plus.

Personal Qualifications

• Genuinely energized by working across the field/desk divide
• Strong initiative and sound independent judgment in ambiguous, data-scarce environments.
• Skilled at translating technical, multi-domain findings for non-technical stakeholders and decision makers.
• Builds and sustains external partnerships (government, NGOs, research institutions).
• Enjoys mentoring and building capacity for junior colleagues.
• Willing to travel extensively.

Additional Details

• Starting date: As soon as possible
• Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• Conducting a pre-employment check may be part of this recruitment process.
• We value a genuine cover letter.
• At The Ocean Cleanup, we believe we are stronger together, while harnessing the uniqueness each individual brings. That is why we take a fair, equal opportunity, and transparent approach to hiring and welcome special needs requests.