Wildlife Insights Data Science Intern

Conservation International (CI) has been protecting nature for the benefit of all for over 30 years. Through science, policy, and partnerships, CI is helping build a healthier, more prosperous and more productive planet.

POSITION SUMMARY

Wildlife Insights is a new platform that aims to revolutionize wildlife conservation by providing cutting edge AI technology, a cloud-based data sharing platform and access to the world’s largest and most diverse camera trap dataset. By bringing together the latest in conservation technology, Wildlife Insights is enabling conservationists to leverage big data for wildlife conservation. The Wildlife Insights partners include Conservation International, Smithsonian Institution, Wildlife Conservation Society, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, WWF, Map of Life, Zoological Society of London and Google.

The Wildlife Insights team is looking for a motivated Data Science Intern to develop tools and materials to help new users overcome one of the largest barriers to sharing camera trap data – data standardization. To address this barrier, Wildlife Insights has established robust data standards that must be met by all incoming data. But for many prospective Wildlife Insights users, this means that they will need to transform data that they have already collected and processed into the Wildlife Insights data standard. The Data Science Intern will play an important role in enabling these prospective users to easily migrate their legacy data into Wildlife Insights. By helping to address a key data sharing barrier, the Data Science Intern will ultimately help to grow the Wildlife Insights database and our understanding of global wildlife populations.

The Wildlife Insights Data Science Intern will have an opportunity to interact with researchers, protected area managers, and other conservationists across the world and collaborate with a dedicated team committed to designing solutions to advance wildlife conservation. This internship is a great opportunity for a mission-driven data scientist to apply their expertise to the conservation field!

This is a paid 12 week internship based in Seattle, Washington.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Data Science Intern will lead efforts to develop code, documentation, and other materials to help data providers transition from their current camera trap software to Wildlife Insights.

There are several known camera trap data management software packages used by researchers, many of which are listed in this peer reviewed paper. The Data Science Intern will write code to transform data from these software and other popular data management techniques into the format required by Wildlife Insights. The intern will also help develop approaches and/or software to automate this process so that in the future, non-technical users can easily import their catalogued data into the Wildlife Insights platform. They will develop other materials (e.g. documentation, instructions or video guides) to help prospective users apply code to their own datasets.

The intern will also be responsible for other program related tasks as requested by their supervisor.

WORKING CONDITIONS

  • This position will be based in Conservation International’s Seattle office.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

  • Experience with R (preferred) or Python.
  • Experience working with large datasets and databases
  • Ability to work with highly interdisciplinary teams and with people of all levels of experience with technology
  • Strong attention to detail
  • Highly motivated to learn
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Experience and/or strong interest in issues related to conservation
  • Must be a currently enrolled student or recently graduated
  • Must be authorized to work in the US
  • Able to work full time hours for 12 weeks at the Conservation International office in Seattle, WA.

Preferred

  • Experience working with camera trap data or other type of wildlife data
  • Experience developing technical and user documentation
  • Experience collaborating on coding projects, e.g. sharing code on Github
  • Basic fluency in one or more of the following languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French.

Please submit resume and cover letter.

See all Conservation International Career Opportunities HERE

Conservation International Values

We expect that all employees will embrace the values of our organization.

  • Passion: We are inspired by nature and cherish the diversity of life in all of its forms.
  • Respect: We respect and trust each other, and we embrace our diversity of cultures, talents, and experiences.
  • Integrity: We act with integrity and are accountable for our actions.
  • Optimism: We are optimistic about the future of life on Earth and are confident that, with our partners, we will achieve unprecedented conservation results.
  • Courage: We tirelessly pursue our vision, taking bold action and persevering through challenges.
  • Teamwork: We work together, recognizing that openness, collaboration and cooperation are fundamental to achieving a healthy and prosperous world for all.

Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Vets/Disabled

Website link: https://chu.tbe.taleo.net/chu04/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=CONSERVATION&cws=39&rid=1345