Head of Geospatial Technology & AI / CTO

As CTO / Head of Geospatial Technology & AI, you will own the entire technical strategy and execution of Apolownia’s tech programme. You will build and lead the technical team, define the architecture, and personally drive the most complex geospatial and AI components.

Key Responsibilities

Geospatial Pipeline & Remote Sensing

• Design and implement the end-to-end drone imagery processing chain: flight planning,
• Structure-from-Motion (SfM) reconstruction, ortho-mosaics, Digital Surface Models (DSM), and Canopy Height Models (CHM = DSM - DTM)
• Develop custom vegetation and biophysical indices beyond standard NDVI/EVI exploiting multi-spectral, SAR, and LiDAR-derived features for mangrove biomass estimation
• Build automated satellite monitoring pipelines (Sentinel-2, Planet) for change detection, growth tracking, and anomaly alerting across >10,000 ha
• Define and enforce data quality standards: GSD 2-5 cm, PPK georeferencing <5 cm, radiometric calibration, atmospheric correction

AI/ML for Carbon Estimation

• Architect and train deep learning models for above-ground biomass (AGB) prediction from multi-modal remote sensing data (optical + SAR + temporal series)
• Implement transfer learning and domain adaptation techniques to generalise models across sites with <10% performance degradation
• Develop probabilistic outputs with calibrated uncertainty (conformal prediction, Platt scaling) accepted by carbon certifiers (Verra VCS, Gold Standard)
• Build changepoint detection algorithms (CUSUM, PELT) for early warning on restoration project deviations
• Design explainability layers (SHAP, attention maps) to provide interpretable insights to field teams and auditors

Platform & Data Architecture

• Design an edge-cloud, offline-first architecture for data synchronisation from remote tropical sites with intermittent connectivity (satellite backhaul, LoRa mesh)
• Build the Apolownia data platform: ingestion of drone, satellite, and field-sensor data into a unified geospatial data warehouse
• Develop the client-facing MRV dashboard, integrating real-time project monitoring, carbon stock estimates, and automated reporting
• Implement MLOps infrastructure: model versioning, drift monitoring, automated retraining pipelines

Technical Leadership & Strategy

• Define the 3-year technology roadmap aligned with Apolownia’s commercial expansion (10,000+ ha portfolio by 2028)
• Recruit, mentor, and lead a technical team (1-2 engineers within 18 months)
• Manage R&D partnerships with academic labs, drone manufacturers, and satellite data providers
• Contribute to scientific publications and patent filings (target: 2 publications, 1 patent)