Lidar Technician

Job description

WHAT IS SYLVERA ANYWAY? ‍👩‍👨🌳 Sylvera helps organisations make confident decisions in carbon and commodity markets. We independently assess the quality of carbon projects, track market pricing and supply signals, and provide geospatial and carbon intensity data — giving our clients the clarity they need to invest in real climate action. We're a team of 130+ scientists, engineers, and market experts based across London, New York, São Paulo, Singapore, and Tokyo. Our work spans market intelligence, geospatial analytics, multi-scale lidar research, and policy analysis. We partner with governments and policymakers to raise the bar for transparency and rigour across carbon markets. Backed by over $96 million from investors including Fidelity, Balderton Capital, Index Ventures, and Insight Partners, we're trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major financial institutions, and governments worldwide. If you care about climate, enjoy solving hard problems, and want to work with people who take the mission seriously — we'd love to hear from you. What will I be doing? ‍‍👩‍💻👨‍💻 Sylvera's Field Data Science team https://www.sylvera.com/research is pioneering new approaches to forest carbon measurement. Traditional methods rely on allometric equations—statistical models that estimate carbon storage based on tree measurements—but these can introduce significant uncertainties. Our team has developed innovative multi-scale lidar methods https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01448-x using cutting-edge terrestrial, drone, and airborne laser scanning technology to directly measure forest carbon, eliminating dependence on these conventional estimation models. Our dedicated field team collects these data across diverse forest ecosystems worldwide, building what we believe is one of the most comprehensive and accurate forest carbon datasets available. These unique, globally-sourced reference data enable us to calibrate and validate Earth observations, unlocking delivery of accurate, timely and scalable insights on nature-based carbon projects, supporting better decision-making in the carbon markets. Over the coming year, in collaboration with Scottish Forestry, the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and CivTech (Challenge 10.6), Sylvera will be collecting an unprecedented volume of field data, to enable developers and investors in Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code projects to use Earth observation methods for monitoring project outcomes in a timely, accurate, scalable and low-cost manner. We’re therefore looking for a dedicated Lidar Technician to strengthen our multi-scale lidar capabilities. Specific responsibilities will include: - Processing of forest lidar data collected by our field team, including co-registration of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and pre-processing of airborne laser scanning (ALS) data, using a mix of in-house and manufacturer (RIEGL, Applanix) software. - Quality assurance of individual tree segmentation from TLS data. - Rigorous, punctual and consistent backup of large lidar datasets, and working together with the lidar scientists, engineers and the field team for fast delivery of high-quality lidar products at scale. - Continuously improving our lidar tech; keeping track of developments in science and industry. - Supporting day-to-day coordination with external partners, with clear communication and a focus on continuous improvement. - Occasional travel to join data collection missions, test new hardware or data acquisition protocols, and train the field team. We’re looking for someone who: 🧠💚 - Gets excited to build the most accurate and comprehensive forest carbon maps ever, from multi-scale lidar data collected all across the world, using advanced tech. - Has experience working with lidar data from forest ecosystems; particularly with TLS co-registration and ALS pre-processing. - Preferably has experience with lidar data collection in forests, automatic tree segmentation and/or quantitative structure modelling. - Is proficient with 3D point cloud tools (e.g. CloudCompare), QGIS and has coding experience (ideally Python). Wants to stay up-to-date on new developments in the scientific lidar community. - Has strong attention to detail and cares about high quality data processing. - Has a good understanding of forest ecology, GIS, and lidar principles. - Is willing and able to travel internationally for a couple of weeks on end on occasion. - Cares deeply about the climate and ecosystems of the earth. - Is a self-starter who thrives in constantly evolving environments, ideally with early-stage experience. We’d like someone highly ambitious, motivated and eager to propel their career forward. We prioritise grit, positivity, and the willingness to get stuck in, and encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't exactly match this job description Benefits 💰 - Equity in a rapidly growing startup - Private Health Insurance and Life Assurance - Unlimited annual leave - and encouragement to actually use it! - 4 weeks/year work from anywhere - Access to Mental Health support - Office bar tab once a month - Weekly drinks in the office - Catered lunch once a month in office - Monthly Deliveroo/equivalent allowance once a month Location 🌍 London, Old Street. We foster hybrid working and require you to physically attend all 1-2-1, retros and divisional meetings in person. Our Values 🙌 - Own it: We make new mistakes. We build on the momentum of our wins and reflect on and learn from our failures. - Stay curious: We take a growth mindset to our work, our customers, our market and the opportunities ahead of us. - Do what’s right - even when it’s hard: We keep our focus on the long-term, even if that means short-term challenges. - Collaborate and challenge with empathy: Our teams deliver through active collaboration. We invest in each others’ success and make the company stronger in the long-run. - Empower Customers: Make extraordinary efforts to exceed our customer expectations. If we’re serving our customers to the fullest, we can help direct more investment into real climate impact. What if you’re a partial fit? 🌱 We prioritise grit, positivity, and the willingness to get stuck in, and encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't exactly match this job description. Equal employment opportunity 🌈 Sylvera is an equal opportunity employer: we value diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. AI note-takers 🤖 We sometimes use AI note-takers to help us transcribe interview notes, so we can be more present in your interview. If you'd like to opt out of us using automatic transcribers, please note this in the free text field in your application, otherwise we'll take your application as confirmation that you're happy for us to use notetakers (whether added to video calls or in the background).