Geospatial Data Architect – Earth Observation, Climate Services

Climate-KIC

Geospatial Data Architect involved in climate services through Earth Observation data. Designing data architectures and guiding institutional clients on technical implementation.

Posted 6/9/2026full-timeRemote • 🇳🇱 NetherlandsMid-LevelSeniorWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSAzureCloudDockerPostGISPython

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Advise and guide the AI-ready data architecture and geospatial AI service definition for institutional clients, who will be doing the data-space-development in-house.
Guide and execute needs and gap assessment among all the relevant stakeholders, providers and users on data needs.
Design and define the overall system architecture and technology approach based on client requirements and constraints, including the harmonisation of heterogeneous data.
Create detailed technical specifications for external partners that clearly define what to build and quality standards.
Review partner deliverables to ensure they meet specifications and align with project goals.
Identify technical risks early and make trade-off recommendations between scope, budget and timeline.
Support the development of guidelines for data governance and the ethical use of AI services, and where appropriate conduct capacity development activities for the successful uptake of services.
Support the delivery of existing projects by writing deliverables, executing tasks, participating in project meetings both online and in-person, including proposing and creating content and managing your own workload.
Represent the team and the organisation in online and in-person meetings.
Support the team’s business development through, e.g. proposal writing.
Support the identification, definition and development of new services and products.

Requirements

What you’ll need

More than five years of experience working with data and geospatial analysis, ideally in climate, environmental, or sustainability-focused projects.
Experience in designing technical solutions for government or institutional clients and understanding their constraints and decision-making processes.
Experience managing external teams or contractors and coordinating complex technical work.
Deep understanding of data architecture.
Practical geospatial data engineering experience across the full stack: working with satellite imagery and geospatial data formats (GeoTIFF, COG, NetCDF), spatial databases like PostGIS, building data pipelines, and deploying solutions with cloud platforms (AWS/Azure, Docker).
Experience with APIs (REST, OGC standards) and version control/CI-CD practices is valuable.
Strong background in data science and GIS, with hands-on experience managing, analysing, and visualising spatial data (ArcGIS or QGIS).
Skilled in Python, translating complex datasets into insights that support climate action and systems innovation.
Experience designing and managing data workflows and pipelines, from service definition to delivery.
Good understanding of Earth Observation (EO) data—its sources, formats, and applications—and the ability to assess technical input in light of climate resilience needs.
Confident communicator who can lead collaborative projects, work across teams, and engage diverse (including non-technical) partners in international and cross-cultural settings.
Experience documenting workflows and supporting others in the use of GIS, data, and AI tools.
Comfortable with digital collaboration platforms such as Office365, Teams, SharePoint, Salesforce, Miro, and Canva.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Flexible working arrangements
Professional development opportunities

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

data architecturegeospatial analysisdata engineeringPythonGISdata workflowsdata pipelinesAPIscloud platformsEarth Observation data

Soft Skills

confident communicatorcollaborative project leadershipcross-cultural engagementstakeholder managementcapacity developmentproposal writingworkload managementtechnical risk assessmentguidance and advisorydocumentation