Junior Geospatial Developer in Ottawa, Ontario at CANADIAN WILDLIFE FEDERATION
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Job Description
Reports to: Senior Spatial Ecologist
Duration: Indeterminate
Location: Ottawa (hybrid)
Hiring range: $56,265 to $70,331. Compensation above this range may be considered for candidates with significant experience or specialized expertise.
Who we are
The Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) is a national not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to ensuring an appreciation of our natural world and a lasting legacy of healthy wildlife and habitat. By spreading knowledge of human impacts on the environment, developing and delivering educational programs, conducting research, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, and advocating for effective wildlife policy and regulation, CWF strives for a future in which Canada’s wildlife is conserved for generations to come.
Diversity is a fundamental part of our core values; we create every opportunity to become more inclusive. We encourage applications from qualified candidates from all diverse communities including, but not limited to, Indigenous persons, racially visible persons, people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+, and women in non-traditional roles.
Position Overview
The Junior Geospatial Developer plays an important role in developing geospatial models and tools and technologies that support freshwater conservation and ecosystem restoration. Working alongside a multidisciplinary team of ecologists, analysts, and developers, this position helps turn complex ecological data into practical solutions through software development, data workflows, and geospatial modelling frameworks. The successful candidate will contribute to designing, building,, and maintaining tools that help inform conservation decisions while gaining experience in geospatial technology, software development, and applied ecological research.
The Junior Geospatial Developer also contributes to ensuring application performance, scalability, deployment, and code quality, while supporting documentation, agile workflows, and knowledge-gathering activities that support project delivery.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Software Development & Data Support
- Supports the development and maintenance of full-stack geospatial software tools and infrastructure for new and existing products.
- Assists in the development and execution of spatial data processing workflows and geospatial models that generate ecologically relevant outputs.
- Supports front-end and back-end development tasks, including web maps, dashboards, databases, APIs, and cloud-based processing tools.
- Supports the identification, acquisition, compilation, and aggregation of data from multiple sources into a variety of formats and standardized data structures.
Project & User Support:
- Implements project processes and workflows to ensure data and software development is thorough, efficient, and sustainable over the long term.
- Supports user requirements elicitation and synthesis to inform technical development needs.
- Contributes to agile project-management processes.
- Provides troubleshooting assistance and feedback to support team deliverables and timelines.
Documentation & Knowledge-Gathering:
- Contributes to the development and maintenance of software documentation for internal use.
- Supports knowledge gathering and literature reviews to inform geospatial modelling frameworks, assumptions, and parameters.
- Assists with other Conservation Science and software development activities as required.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent education/experience in Computer Science/Programming, Geomatics/GIS, Environmental Science, or a related field.
- 2+ years of related experience.
- Experience with front-end web development frameworks (e.g., JavaScript libraries, HTML, CSS), including web mapping libraries (e.g., Leaflet, Mapbox GL JS, OpenLayers, ArcGIS Maps SDKs)
- Experience with back-end development and database design, including relational and spatial databases (e.g., PostgreSQL/PostGIS, ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabases).
- Experience with REST/RESTful API development.
- Experience working with spatial data and scripting geospatial tools (e.g., Python, SQL, Java).
- Familiarity with Microsoft Azure cloud services.
- Familiarity with ArcGIS Enterprise Experience Builder.
- Proficient in Git, GitHub, and working with CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions).
- Strong written documentation and internal collaboration skills.
- Strong data management skills, with attention to detail and accuracy.
- Strong teamwork and communication skills.
- Ability to organize and document work clearly and consistently.
Assets:
- Familiarity with Canadian freshwater systems, watersheds, or conservation projects.
- Experience contributing to agile software development workflows.
- Knowledge of ecological or freshwater connectivity modeling.
- Ability to troubleshoot and support internal users.
- Ability to communicate in French.
Work Conditions
- Full-time at 37.5 hours per week, typically Monday through Friday.
- Hiring salary can range from $56,265 to $70,331. Compensation above this range may be considered for candidates with significant experience or specialized expertise.
Location: Ideally based out of CWF’s Head Office in Ottawa, ON (Kanata), with hybrid flexibility to work-from-home two consecutive days per week. Remote candidates outside of Ottawa can be considered. - Frequent sitting at a computer and use of peripherals.
Why work with us?
- We are a rapidly growing team of forward-thinking individuals who all share a common passion: wildlife and habitat!
- Office located in the quiet suburbs of Kanata which includes a kitchen lounge, living plant wall, and outdoor demonstration gardens.
- Friendly and casual work environment.
- Opportunity to expand your network of conservation and program experts.
- We are committed to work-life balance.
- We are committed to building a more diverse workforce.
- Relevant professional development opportunities for career growth.
- We offer a competitive benefits plan at no cost to employees which include health, dental, vision, and LTD. Enrollment to Employee Assistance Program.
- We offer Group RSP enrollment with up to 5% matching.
- 13 paid stat holidays per year.
- Generous time-off policies include paid vacation days, sick days, float days, and appointment time.
- Complimentary subscription to our Canadian Wildlife magazine.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: September 4, 2026
HOW TO APPLY: Cover letter and resume should be submitted. Only the candidates who meet the requirements and are selected for an interview will be contacted. We thank you for your interest in the Canadian Wildlife Federation!
AODA Statement: CWF is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to an inclusive, accessible hiring process. Please notify the HR Department if you require any accommodations throughout the recruitment process.
AI Statement: CWF does not use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to screen, assess, or select applicants. All applications are reviewed and evaluated by human members of our hiring team.