Senior River Systems Engineer - Field Data to Decisions

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

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.