Vacancy Data and Software Engineer for Urban Applications 👩‍💻

We are looking for a data and software engineer to support our research and education in which we develop and use FAIR data and software solutions for sustainable urban development (i.e. meeting the principles of FAIR: Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability). In our work, we integrate and analyse open geo-datasets from many different sources, we reconstruct open 3D data for urban applications, and develop, contribute to and use open-source software. For example, a notable dataset that we have generated from open data sets is the 3D BAG, an open data service containing automatically reconstructed 3D models of all 10 million buildings in the Netherlands. Other examples of open source software that we have developed are 3dfier, azul, City3D, AdTree, City4CFD, cjio, Easy3D, PolyFit, QGIS-CityJSON, val3dity, QGIS-3DCityDB-Loader and numerous smaller ones (written in C++, Python, and Rust). The code of these software solutions – which have often found their way to implementations in practice – can be found at here and here.

Good software as well as maintenance and improvement of our generated data is a crucial component of research reproducibility as well as making the software and data usable in urban applications. Therefore, we are looking for a data and software engineer to help us maintain, further develop, and update our open data and open-source software solutions. An important task of the candidate will be to make these data and tools better accessible to be used in research and education on sustainable urban development.

The envisioned tasks of this job are, among others:

• Support our researchers and educators when (further) developing software and data solutions for sustainable urban development, and support them to publish their code openly and complying with the FAIR principles. This might include adding features to existing software, fixing bugs, or building something from scratch.
• Design, build, and test pipelines to reconstruct open geospatial data for urban applications (energy simulations, Urban Heat Island effect simulations, noise simulations etc) and prepare them for use by urbanists.
• Help the rest of the Urbanism Department and the Faculty use open (3D) GIS/BIM data in urban design and planning applications.
• Automate the compilation, the testing, and the release of software with GitHub Actions.
• Manage Linux servers hosting our data and software.

Research group

The position will be embedded in the 3D geoinformation research group, Section Urban Data Science part of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. The group focuses on technologies underpinning open geo-data and the integration with Building Information. Models and aims at designing, developing, and implementing open data and open source solutions to model cities, buildings, and landscapes in 3D for environmental and urban studies. Open Science is an important principle of our research. We are also the main provider of education in the MSc Geomatics. It is a multidisciplinary group of about 25 people, including computer scientists, geomatics engineers, and geographers. It has a history of successful collaborations with the industry and the government: its research has led to software, standards and patents for the management of 3D geographic information.

Job requirements

• An MSc/HBO degree in a relevant discipline (geoinformatics/geomatics, computer science, or similar)
• Good software development skills. Experience with C++ and Python is a must
• Proficiency in open-source geomatics tools (QGIS, GDAL, PDAL, PCL, etc)
• Experience with the FAIR principles and in software development, geo-data analysis, and geo-data management
• Experience with management of Linux servers as well as with continuous integration (CI) (e.g. with GitHub Action) are desired assets
• A good command of English (oral and written)
• Affinity with working in multi-disciplinary teams in an international-oriented environment (the working language is English) and an aspiration to increase the use of open source geo-data and tools in urban applications

What we offer

• Salary scale 10 or 11 (€2.960,00–€4.670,00); depending on the working experience and education level of the candidate.
• After 1 year there is the possibility to become permanent
• A salary according to the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities, plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

How to apply

You can apply via this webpage.

To apply, please submit:

• a letter of application and a detailed CV
• a list of top 3 of your past experiences/activities (projects, software development etc ) related to this job

For more information about this position, please contact directly dr Hugo Ledoux or prof. dr Jantien Stoter.