Knowledge Graph Engineer

Description

Who We Are

The Center for Geospatial Solutions (CGS) is a self-sustaining nonprofit enterprise. Founded to help bridge the gap between policy and practice, our mission is to enable people and the planet to meet the pace of change by expanding access to new technologies that power more sustainable and equitable outcomes.  

We are a fully remote team of award-winning professionals with decades of applied expertise and end-to-end GIS capabilities. By embracing whole-system thinking and state-of-the-art technology, we enable partners across public, private, and nonprofit sectors to tackle complex, real-world challenges—like housing affordability, ecosystem conservation, water management, and sustainable infrastructure—with greater clarity.

Our work liberates and connects key information, creates nuanced pictures of complex situations, and makes data easier to use, understand, and act on. We use tools like satellite data and artificial intelligence to deliver insights for impact.

At CGS, we believe that technology can be a tool for positive change. We are dedicated to building a diverse team that represents the communities and systems we live and work in. If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every listed qualification, we encourage you to apply. We value potential, curiosity, and lived experiences, and know a more inclusive team makes us a stronger organization.

About the Lincoln Institute

CGS was established in 2020 at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy which seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, the Lincoln Institute integrates theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide and has office locations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Washington, DC; Phoenix, Arizona; and Beijing, China.

Position Overview:

The Center for Geospatial Solutions is seeking a Knowledge Graph Engineer to serve as a lead technical contributor to the national Geoconnex water data indexing system, working in close collaboration with the Associate Director for Technology and software development team.

This role will contribute directly to the Internet of Water (IoW), a bold, coalition-led effort  to improve water data sharing to fundamentally transform water management. Since 2022, CGS has served as the official home of the IoW Coalition, advancing this shared vision by  developing and promoting new tools and best practices that strengthen the nation's water data sharing systems, in partnership with public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector.

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in semantic web technologies, water domain ontologies, and geospatial data systems, with a passion for advancing open data infrastructure that serves federal, state, and local stakeholders.

Reporting to the Associate Director for Technology for the Internet of Water, the Knowledge Graph Engineer will be responsible for advancing the technical capabilities of the Geoconnex knowledge graph, integrating cutting-edge AI interfaces, and optimizing spatial query performance across heterogeneous water datasets. They will bring expertise in ontology development, semantic web standards, and water informatics while playing a critical role in scaling the Geoconnex system to serve as the foundational infrastructure for national water data.

What You Will Do:

Technical Leadership

• Design and implement ontological frameworks for water and geospatial data integration, building on existing standards and community best practices

• Architect and deploy large language model interfaces to the Geoconnex knowledge graph, enabling natural language querying and data discovery

• Optimize spatial query performance and develop advanced geospatial indexing strategies for water-related features and datasets

Project Delivery

• Collaborate with federal partners (USGS, USBR, USACE, EPA) and state agencies to integrate diverse water datasets into the Geoconnex reference feature collection

• Develop and maintain automated data ingestion pipelines for state streamgages, reservoirs, wells, and other critical water infrastructure

• Support knowledge graph snapshot distribution systems and integration with academic platforms like NSF Proto-OKN

Technology Infrastructure and Data Management

• Develop reverse geocoder services and embeddable spatial search capabilities for applications requiring Geoconnex features

• Implement cross-linking capabilities with NSF OKN and other federal knowledge graph initiatives

• Ensure system reliability and performance against established service level agreements

• Under the direction of the Associate Director for Technology, design and implement enhancements of the Geoconnex knowledge graph architecture, ensuring scalable performance for real-time graph queries

• Under the direction of the Associate Director for Technology, implement the Semantic Accessibility Layer framework to reduce technical barriers for data provider participation

Team and Stakeholder Engagement

• Mentor junior developers and data scientists working on Geoconnex-related projects

• Coordinate technical activities across the broader Internet of Water Coalition community

• Represent CGS technical capabilities in stakeholder meetings and collaborative planning sessions

Qualifications

Who You Are:
You get energy from solving messy, meaningful problems alongside smart, mission-driven collaborators. You're comfortable navigating change, curious about new tools and ideas, and excited to stretch your skillset when the work calls for it. You bring creativity, adaptability, and a sense of possibility to everything you do, and you’re not afraid to try, learn, and try again.

What You Will Need:

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Geoinformatics, or related field, or equivalent professional experience
• Minimum 5 years of experience in semantic web technologies, knowledge graph development, and ontology engineering
• Proficiency in RDF, SKOS, SPARQL, OWL, SHACL, and semantic web frameworks
• Experience creating or extending ontologies and managing their lifecycle for domain specific usage across clients
• Strong background in geospatial data processing, spatial databases, and GIS technologies
• Experience with large language model integration, vector databases, and AI-driven query interfaces
• Programming proficiency in Python
• Understanding of DevOps practices and cloud infrastructure

Helpful Experience (Nice to Have):

• Familiarity with water domain ontologies and hydrologic data standards (HY Features, WaterML, ODM2, etc.)
• Familiarity with entity resolution concepts and tools
• Familiarity with water data systems, monitoring networks, and federal water data standards
• Experience with USGS data systems, National Hydrography Dataset, and federal water data workflows
• Knowledge of state and local water management practices and regulatory frameworks
• Familiarity with IoW Coalition initiatives and community governance models
• Experience working with CUAHSI, or other academic water and geospatial data interoperability initiatives
• Background in hydrologic modeling, water resource management, or environmental data systems