Technical Engineer (Full-Time, 1 Year Fixed-Term Contract)

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity founded in 1826, is a world-renowned centre of excellence for conservation science and applied conservation. ZSL’s purpose is to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals from going extinct. With a new strategy about to launch in June 2018, ZSL is just about to embark on a transformational change programme which will see strategic objectives being set for our 200 year anniversary in 2026.

With global biodiversity in rapid decline and a growing number of species on the brink of extinction, advances in technology are becoming ever more important in helping conservationists address big challenges. ZSL has established a growing Conservation Technology Unit (CTU) pioneering technology solutions. We incubate our own IP, develop tech products for market, and we leverage relationships with technology companies and universities to develop innovative solutions to address conservation challenges around the world.

We are looking to recruit a Technical Engineer, will provide direct input and guide the many projects we work on. The job holder will work closely with our product development partners, oversee their development and help translate technical information to our teams and field staff.  We’re looking for someone with strategic flair, who’s confident in leading technical workshops with partners, helping to further ideas and build excellent relationships with our partners and provide technical oversight for the end to end product development process. The role will span project definition, getting hands-on to write software for our applications, working with APIs to integrate new services, setting up environments, and deploying code to cloud-based services, as well as working with embedded systems.

The Technical Engineer will work in close collaboration with CTU’s Project Managers, Technical Field Specialist and Scientists, as well as working alongside technical partners such as: Google, Cambridge Design Partnership, Nominet’s R&D team and key universities.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a fun, fast paced and talented team with a start-up mentality, which will provide opportunities to define and drive forward your own projects and work with high profile partners and projects. The role will be based in ZSL London Zoo Regents Park, with travel to partner offices and some international field sites, reporting directly to the Conservation Technology Lead.

This exciting role will oversee and contribute to our flagship projects:

• Instant Detect 2.0 (A multi-sensor IoT platform to raise real time alerts on illegal activities in both terrestrial and marine environments)
• Machine Learning to identify species Collaborating with good to develop refine and apply Cloud Auto ML Vision
• Instant Wild 2.0 (citizen science crowd sourcing platform)

References for more information on some of our recent projects, tools and partners:

• https://www.zsl.org/conservation-initiatives/conservation-technology  
• https://ai.google/stories/cloud-automl/
• https://www.nominet.uk/emerging-technology/internet-of-things-tools/
• https://www.wildlabs.net/resources/case-studies/instant-detect-20-connected-future-conservation
• https://www.wildlabs.net/resources/case-studies/how-open-source-technologies-could-dramatically-reduce-cost-tagging-green-sea

• Working with ZSL’s teams and technology partners to design, develop and deploy Instant Wild and Instant Detect around the world, as well as advancing new projects and products.
• Contributing to the definition, design and development tasks across the entire product development lifecycle – from concept, architecture definition, prototyping, testing, product hardening and deployment.
• Data processing and preparation to use for machine learning models. Ensuring teams enter information correctly, carrying out data quality control and checks.
• Working with third parties to use and integrate APIs, linking systems and data for conservation.
• Creating low-fi prototypes and collaborating with researchers to mock up and explore ideas.
• Collaborating with researchers and technical partners to deliver systems and ensuring products are developed to the highest quality.

Ideally the successful candidate will have:

• Proven experience developing and delivering technical solutions in the relevant field
• BSc/BA in relevant subject area or equivalent experience.
• Prior experience in developing software projects, with extensive knowledge of best practice software & hardware protocols as outlined above.
• Experience of using Cloud services for data storage.
• Ability to understand product development and how products will contribute to the success of the organisation.
• Excellent written and verbal communicator with technical and non-technical colleagues, someone who can translate technical information, requirements and code between our development partner and team members.
• Knowledge of internet security and data connectivity protocols.
• Experience of working with SQL and NoSQL database systems.
• Experience using APIs.
• Experience with Google Cloud Storage / Amazon S3.

Desirable skills/experience:

The following skills are desirable but not essential:

• Linux sysadmin/DevOps experience.
• Programming skills (Python, Javascript).
• Experience creating and using machine learning algorithms and software such as TensorFlow/Keras.
• Knowledge of Internet of Things platforms, applications, networks and architecture is desirable.
• Having a professional network in the relevant field is advantageous.

Please note: This is a full-time, 1 year fixed-term contract position based at ZSL main offices in Regents Park, London. You may also be occassionally be required to carry out visits to external agencies, consultancies and organisations as and when necessary.

Benefit Package:

This role offers a competitive salary plus a comprehensive benefits package including 25 days holiday, stakeholder pension where the employer minimum contribution is 7%, complimentary zoo tickets and more.

For a full Job Description please click here.

Applicants will need to upload their CV and covering letter (detailing relevant experience and skills, their motivation for the role and include details of availability) and can do this by clicking the "Apply for this job online" button. If you have any queries regarding these positions or when applying through the system please contact Human Resources at hr@zsl.org.

Closing date for applications: Midnight (23:59) Sunday 15th July 2018

The Zoological Society of London is a charity registered in England and Wales: no. 208728.