Geospatial Data Engineer

Organizational Context

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, dedicated to saving lives and building a pathway to peace and prosperity. WFP assists over 100 million people annually across more than 80 countries, focusing on food security and nutrition. The Geospatial & Intelligence Unit enhances WFP's geospatial evidence base for emergency preparedness and response.

Job Purpose

The Geospatial Data Engineer will be instrumental in modernizing WFP's Global GIS Infrastructure. This role involves designing, implementing, and maintaining a cloud-native geospatial database, specifically focusing on the Master Location Data. The engineer will develop and manage ETL/ELT processes for ingesting, validating, and publishing geospatial datasets, ensuring data quality and integrity. Key responsibilities include building automated workflows for versioning, change tracking, and metadata generation, alongside implementing QA/QC processes for the Master Location Data. The position requires developing and maintaining AWS-based cloud environments, implementing microservices and geometry-enabled API endpoints, and ensuring compliance with data security requirements. This role is crucial for harmonizing geographic information across WFP's corporate systems, supporting business processes, and enhancing the organization's ability to deliver effective humanitarian assistance.

Responsibilities

The Geospatial Data Engineer will be responsible for enhancing the World Food Programme's (WFP) geospatial capabilities to support emergency preparedness and response. This involves designing, implementing, and maintaining PostgreSQL/PostGIS databases for Master Location data, and managing ETL/ELT processes for ingesting, validating, and publishing geospatial datasets. The role includes leading the development of automated workflows for versioning, change tracking, and metadata generation, as well as implementing streamlined QA/QC processes for data maintenance. Additionally, the engineer will develop and maintain AWS-based cloud-native geospatial environments, implement microservices and geometry-enabled API endpoints, and ensure compliance with data classification and security requirements. The position also requires producing documentation, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and providing support and training to WFP staff globally. Key deliverables include a fully operational cloud-native geospatial database, an updated GeoEnabler database schema, automated data pipelines, integrated validation and tracking mechanisms, operational APIs, and comprehensive technical documentation.

Work Experience

Requires a minimum of 5 years of experience in geospatial data engineering. Must have proven experience in developing applications and services within cloud environments and deploying them using Infrastructure as a Code (IaaC).

Skills

Geospatial data engineering, PostgreSQL/PostGIS database management, ETL/ELT process development, Cloud-native geospatial environments (AWS), Microservices and API development, Data validation and QA/QC, Infrastructure as a Code (IaaC), OGC APIs, Geospatial data manipulation (vector/raster), Database administration, Cloud services (RDS, S3, Lambda, ECS, VPC), Geoparquet, DuckDB, Data lake catalogs, AI-assisted coding

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