• Job Description

  Req#: JR1270
  Salary - £37, 405 - £39,694
  Hybrid working (50/50)
  Based in Lancaster, permanent and full-time
  Closing date for applications, Friday 19th July 2024. We reserve the right to close this advert early if we find the right candidate, so we encourage you to apply early.

  UKCEH is looking for an Environmental Data Scientist to join our 600-strong team, contributing to scientific discovery and generating the data, insights and solutions that researchers, businesses and governments need to solve complex environmental challenges.

  Working at UKCEH is rewarding. Our science makes a real difference, enabling people and the environment to prosper, and enriching society. We are the custodians of a wealth of environmental data, collected by UKCEH and its predecessors over the course of more than 60 years.

  As a valued member of our team, you’ll get:

  • 27 days annual leave, rising to 29 days after five years
  • 10% employer pension contribution
  • Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
  • 24 hour, 365-day access to support with physical, mental, social, health or financial issues
  • Flexible working opportunities
  • And much more

  You will be joining the Environmental Data Science group at UKCEH Lancaster to work on delivering the analytical components of the UKCEH Digital strategy across our monitoring and modelling portfolio, and integrating these into our Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI). The DRI at UKCEH supports the full lifecycle of environmental science projects, from monitoring and processing data to analysing and visualising data for decision-making under uncertainty.

  This involves a range of services for stakeholders, including, for instance, citizen science apps for data collection, tools to manage data and other research assets (such as the Environmental Information Data Centre catalogue), virtual laboratories for scientific collaborations (such as DataLabs), visualisation and decision-making tools for organisations and policymakers, and technologies for public engagement.

  You will play a crucial role in developing innovative approaches to exploit and integrate the data we collect, enhancing its discoverability within the wider environmental science community. You will be involved in working with a variety of DRI assets (e.g., models, methods, workflows) from across the UKCEH portfolio to leverage the latest data science and machine learning techniques. This will enable us to address increasingly complex scientific questions and improve the efficiency of our processes. Additionally, you will ensure these techniques are incorporated into UKCEH’s DRI to support the integration of future data and assets. This will involve close collaboration with the rest of the Environmental Data Science group, an expanding multidisciplinary team that employs co-design approaches to develop the DRI for environmental science.

  You’ll be joining a leading independent, not-for-profit research institute that’s committed to recruiting talented people like you, progressing your career and giving you the support you need to thrive at UKCEH.

  Your main responsibilities will include:

  • Use state-of-the-art data science techniques to investigate new ways of integrating a broad range of data and assets available in the UKCEH portfolio and beyond ( E.g. Citizen science data, sensor networks and large process based models.)
  • Research and develop novel and reusable approaches and associated methods to enhance discoverability of UKCEH data and assets, specifically large scale long-term environmental data
  • Build on techniques such as natural language processing, spatial analysis, and machine learning to develop data science methods and analytical workflows.
  • Analyse, reflect and respond to the environmental impact of the data science approaches you use and develop.
  • Work closely with the Environmental Data Science team, and specifically the subgroups focused on data science methods and DevOps, to make data science methods and analytical workflows available for the community (e.g., through DataLabs).
  • Connect and collaborate with researchers to harness the power of collaborative digital platforms (e.g., DataLabs) and foster transdisciplinary research across the organisation and the wider environmental data science community.
  • Support opportunities to enhance data science methods with the research community, including publishing your research and contributing to relevant research proposals

  For the role of Environmental Data Scientist, we’re looking for somebody who:

  • Has a good degree in an appropriate subject (e.g., statistics, data science, environmental science or computer science), as well as a PhD or equivalent relevant experience
  • Has evidence of continuing professional development and up to date knowledge of research in their field, including research experience of applying data science skills, ideally to an environmental context
  • Scientific programming skills, for example R, Python or Julia
  • Demonstrable experience with using machine learning approaches and natural language processes, and desirably with an understanding of their environmental impacts and how they may enhance the discoverability of DRI assets
  • An aptitude for learning new technologies and techniques for integrating, sharing and enhancing discoverability of data and other assets
  • Ability to effectively present to and collaborate with people from different areas of expertise/scientific domains and work well within a team
  • An ability to process and analyse data in a robust and reproducible manner using the latest collaborative platforms ( e.g. Notebooks technologies or virtual lab environments)

  We welcome applications from international candidates; however, at present, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this role.

  If we’ve just described you, we’d love to meet. Apply now !

• About the company

  The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is a centre for excellence in environmental science across water, land and air.

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