Spatial Ecologist

Queensland Ecologists is seeking a Spatial Ecologist to work at the frontier of AI and ecology.

We continue to invest heavily in GIS and AI technologies to support our ecology team, and we're looking for someone to join the team and make a huge impact,

Most consultancies are only starting to explore this. You will help us push it further, and help set how AI is used in ecological consulting.

We are looking for an innovative self-starter with an entrepreneurial streak: an ecologist who is deeply inquisitive, enjoys a hard problem, keeps going until there is a working solution, and thinks about what client problem this solves and what value it delivers.

What matters most: curiosity, a problem-solving mindset and commercial sense, backed by a degree in ecology or a related field and practical GIS skills. Recent graduates are welcome to apply. Ideally you will have at least a year of experience in environmental consulting or a related area.

Roughly 70% of the role is product building and 30% is client work. On the product side you will help design, build and test the tools behind our spatial reporting: the data pipelines that pull in government mapping, the AI workflows that research and draft, and the checks that prove the outputs are right. On the client side you will prepare mapping and spatial analysis for real projects, which keeps what you build grounded in what ecologists and clients actually need. The role is hybrid and mostly worked from home, with some field work across South East Queensland.

• Help design and build new spatial and AI tools for ecological assessment
• Extend our in-house constraints reporting system, adding datasets, councils and report sections
• Source, check and maintain State, Commonwealth and council spatial datasets, and track changes to mapping versions
• Prototype and test AI workflows for research, mapping and reporting, and verify their outputs against the source data
• Write up what works and what does not, so good methods become standard practice

• Prepare report figures, constraints mapping and spatial analysis for ecological assessments, PMAV applications, management plans and development applications
• Process field data (GPS, drone imagery, survey records) into mapping and report outputs
• Assist with field surveys and habitat assessments in South East Queensland

• An undergraduate degree in ecology, environmental science, geography or a related discipline (essential)
• Working skills in QGIS and/or ArcGIS Pro
• Python, SQL or other scripting experience, or a clear drive to learn it (highly regarded, as much of the role is building)
• A genuine interest in AI and how it can be used in ecology, along with the judgement to verify what it produces
• Ideally, at least a year of experience in environmental consulting or a related area
• Familiarity with Queensland environmental mapping (regional ecosystems, the regulated vegetation management map, koala habitat mapping), or a willingness to learn it quickly
• A self-starter who takes an idea from rough prototype to something clients use, without waiting to be asked
• Commercial awareness: an eye for which tools will save time or win work, and which will not
• Clear writing and the ability to explain technical work to clients
• Ability to work remotely and manage your own time independently
• Current driver’s licence and willingness to travel for field work across SEQ

We are a specialist consultancy trusted by developers, landowners and councils for practical, science-based advice. We are a team that builds its own tools, so your ideas reach real projects quickly. You will have a hand in shaping how the practice uses spatial data and AI, with mentoring from a Certified Environmental Practitioner along the way.