System developer / Research engineer in wildlife conservation technology

Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies
The Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies (WFE), SLU, Umeå, is looking for a system developer with strong interests in wildlife conservation technology. She/he will work within Viltbild, a collaborative project between SLU and the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management (SAHWM) aimed at collecting, processing and analysing data on a wide range of wildlife species from camera traps that are run by hunters and other stakeholders across Sweden. The vision is that Viltbild becomes an important future, citizen-science, platform that contributes to monitoring, conservation and management of diverse wildlife species in Sweden. The successful applicant will lead the development of Viltbild’s web portal and be part of a growing conservation technology hub at WFE.

The department offers a creative, stimulating, and highly international environment and performs internationally recognised research, education and environmental monitoring in the research areas: animal ecology, aquatic ecology, molecular ecology and restoration ecology (see https://www.slu.se/en/departments/wildlife-fish-environmental-studies/research/research-areas/). The department has many international employees and well-established national and international collaborations, which gives opportunities for fruitful exchange.

Duties:
The successful candidate will design Vildbild’s web portal to collect and analyse wildlife images from camera traps set out by hunters and other stakeholders and closely work with Viltbild’s core project team consisting of Dr. Tim Hofmeester, Associate Prof. Joris Cromsigt and Associate Prof. Fredrik Widemo (SLU) and Filip Ånöstam (SAHWM). You will design a front end to an existing web-based database structure as well as develop several new analytical features to retrieve information from the wildlife images relevant for wildlife conservation and management. You will closely collaborate with other project members as well as test users and students. The successful person will also have opportunities to be involved in wildlife research resulting from the Viltbild data. We expect the successful completion of the two year position to open up exciting opportunities for follow-up projects for a successful candidate. In that light, we would be happy to discuss opportunities for combining the position with working towards a Ph.D., or as a post-doc project, but this is not a requirement.

Qualifications:
Applicants should either hold a minimum of an MSc in computer science, interactive design or similar, or a minimum of an MSc in (wildlife) ecology or similar with strong IT skills. We are looking for a highly motivated and team-oriented candidate with documented experience as a front-end developer and good knowledge of JavaScript and Angular technology (https://angular.io/), the Bootstrap CSS framework (https://getbootstrap.com/) and Model-View-Controller (MVC) patterns. Evidence of a basic understanding of the Django web-framework (https://www.djangoproject.com/) and experience with AI and image recognition will count as strong merits. The applicant can show a portfolio of previous projects, preferably including the development of front-ends for complex, database-driven web applications. An affinity with wildlife ecology and/or management, including hunting and the use of camera traps, counts as a merit. An understanding of the Swedish language, or strong willingness to learn basic Swedish within the first 6 months, will be a merit.

Place of work:
Umeå

Form of employment:
Fixed term employment of 24 months.

Extent:
100%

Starting date:
1 April 2022, or according to agreement.

Application:
We welcome your application no later than 2022-03-15, use the button below.

Academic union representatives:
https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/



The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se