Position Available: Geospatial Support Specialist 2023 – Filled!

This position has been filled!

Help Make a Difference in Polar & Environmental Science

The Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is seeking an innovative geospatial professional to join the User Services team. The person in this position will be responsible for managing science project support, coordinating data requests, and providing geospatial expertise for PGC core users. In addition to supervising undergraduate or graduate research assistants, the successful applicant will perform GIS and Remote Sensing analysis per project requests. This position will also play an active role in community outreach, data/software training workshops, and conference exhibitions/presentations.

What You’ll Do

In your first week you will be introduced to the PGC team and PGC’s role in geospatial science. You will learn about our funders, users, and partnerships. You will have dedicated training on internal workflows, data resources, and PGC’s project management system. You will also attend various weekly meetings to learn how PGC operates.

In your first month you will take on the responsibility of managing a portfolio of PGC users as a PGC Point of Contact and help manage incoming requests for geospatial support and data. You will learn how to play an integral role in the user request lifecycle.

In your first year you will become an important member of the User Services team and help manage student projects and workloads. Your expertise in polar science and data specific to the polar regions will grow. Relationships you’ve formed within PGC and with PGC users will become more concrete. You will also help evaluate user feedback and work to improve the PGC user experience and explore education and outreach initiatives that connect PGC to the broader community.

The Geospatial Support Specialist responsibilities include:

1. (30%) Manage incoming requests for geospatial data and maintain timely communication with PGC Users
2. (20%) Execute image processing workflows and data manipulation, create cartographic products, and coordinate data deliveries
3. (20%) Assist PGC staff with ongoing organizational projects and initiatives
4. (15%) Mentor and help supervise graduate and undergraduate students
5. (15%) Contribute to PGC Engagement activities

Values

PGC is a science support organization that is built on these values:

• Diversity and Respect: A mix of experiences, ideas, and approaches makes all our work better
• Initiative: The drive to try, learn, or problem solve is inspiring and aids progress
• Outreach: Take what you have learned and return it to the community

Benefits

The Office of Human Resources has a guide to the University’s benefits including the Regent’s Scholarship, Faculty Retirement Plan, Leave, and Medical.

For this job the expected salary range is from $53k to $67k.

How to Apply

Ready to apply? Great! Start at the job posting.

Before you start, you should have:

• A resume
  • 1-2 page formatted document
• A cover letter
  • Tell us what excites you about this job, work you’ve done and where you want your career to go
• Names and contact information (phone & email) for three references
  • Mentors, bosses, co-workers, people you study with or talk to at meetups

The information in the three documents listed above are what PGC will reference throughout the recruitment process.  Other information manually entered into the UMN employment application system will be stored by the Office of Human Resources.

You can take a break at any point during the application process. Click the Save Draft button and you can return to your application later. When you log back into the job application system, click My Activities and then click on the job title User Services Geospatial Support Specialist.

If you have any questions while applying, look at the Using the Job Application System page, or reach out to PGC at pgc-support@umn.edu.

Interviews

We use two interviews.

1. A brief one-on-one Zoom interview to determine qualifications are met and/or clarify details from application (30min)
2. A panel interview with User Services team member panel and User Services Manager (90min)

Second round interviews will be conducted in a consistent format for all candidates.  The format may be in-person or in a remote setting depending on the candidate pool.

Answers to Some Common Questions

Is this job remote or in person?

Currently our work location is a hybrid environment that adheres to the Universities Work with Flexibility Guidelines. Staff are asked to have an in-office presence on two suggested PGC team days with the flexibility to be in-person or remote on non- PGC team days.  PGC remains committed to providing a flexible work environment that fosters collaboration, teamwork, and effective support of our polar science community.

Do I need to be in Minnesota?

You should be within commuting distance of Minneapolis, MN.

Is travel involved or required?

There are opportunities to travel (when safe and approved by the University) for outreach initiatives as well as staffing our office in McMurdo Station, Antarctica during the austral summer months.

How about visas or relocation funds?

Academic Support Resources does not currently:

• sponsor visas
• offer relocation funds
• offer signing bonuses

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Remote Sensing, GIS or similar science/geography field
• Proficiency in GIS/Remote Sensing principles, software, and analysis
• Experience consuming web-based mapping and GIS services
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written) and a strong commitment to provide superior support to the polar science community
• Ability to manage and delegate student projects and workload

Advantageous Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in remote sensing, imagery analysis, and/or photogrammetry
• Previous customer service experience
• Expertise in project management
• Exposure to a programming language or command line interface
• Ability to create cartographic products for data visualization
• Experience managing and publishing web-based mapping and GIS services
• Openness to 4-8 weeks of annual travel with the potential to travel to remote environments

About the Polar Geospatial Center

The Polar Geospatial Center provides geospatial support, mapping, and GIS/remote sensing solutions to researchers and logistics groups in the polar science community. Our goal is to introduce new, state-of-the-art techniques from the geospatial field to effectively solve problems in the least mapped places on Earth. Visit our website: www.pgc.umn.edu.

Polar Geospatial Center
R280 Learning and Environmental Sciences 
1954 Buford Ave. 
St. Paul, MN 55108 
612-626-0505

APPLY NOW!