VP Data Science - Earth Data Hub

What is Sylvera anyway? ‍👩‍👨🌳

Sylvera provides carbon data for genuine climate impact. Our mission is to incentivize investment in real climate action. 

Purchasing credits through the carbon markets is one of the most established and scalable ways to channel finance from the private sector to effective climate solutions and work toward societal net zero. Unfortunately, the voluntary carbon markets have been plagued with mistrust and a lack of effectiveness since they’ve emerged – until Sylvera. 

To help organizations ensure they're making the most effective investments, Sylvera builds software that independently and accurately automates the evaluation of carbon projects that capture, remove, or avoid emissions. With Sylvera's data and tools, businesses and governments can confidently invest in, benchmark, deliver, and report real climate impact. 

Our team is made up of leading minds in climate change from scientists to policy, finance and carbon market experts. We work in partnership with scientific organisations, universities, governments and think tanks to develop and test rigorous and holistic ratings methodologies, leveraging the latest technology. Founded in 2020, Sylvera has 150+ employees across the world with offices in London, New York, Belgrade and Singapore. We’ve raised over $96million from leading VCs like Balderton Capital, Index Ventures and Insight Partners to date. 

What will I be doing? ‍‍👩‍💻👨‍💻

The Vice President of Data Science for our Earth Data Hub (EDH) is a pivotal leadership role within Sylvera. This senior leader will spearhead the EDH product pillar, harmonising the ways of working of multifaceted data product squads ranging from field data science to machine learning, and geospatial analytics. This role will be responsible for the delivery of tangible, customer-centric Earth Observation products.

Strategic Leadership:

- Design, articulate, and propagate a compelling technical vision for the EDH, aligning with our broader organisational objectives.

- Foster a culture of innovation, encouraging the exploration of new methodologies and technologies to continuously advance our data products and analytics capabilities.

- Collaborate closely with other organisational leaders, ensuring the seamless integration of the EDH's objectives with the wider company strategy.

Product Development and Delivery:

- Ensure a robust, agile, and iterative product development process, promoting a production-first ethos to guarantee products are transitioned from R&D to production within predictable timelines.

- Lead the drive towards building products that address genuine customer needs, ensuring the alignment of product development with market demands and customer feedback.

- Oversee the establishment and adherence to data contracts, ensuring a seamless integration across different data product teams and systems.

Team Leadership and Development:

- Build, lead, and nurture a high-performing engineering culture within the EDH, emphasising empowerment, collaboration, and continuous learning.

- Foster the growth of team members, ensuring a conducive environment for the nurturing of top-tier talent in Earth Observation, data science, and machine learning domains.

Technical Excellence and Execution:

- Cultivate a culture of technical excellence, ensuring the application of best practices in data science, machine learning, and software engineering.

- Drive the execution of the EDH's technical roadmap, ensuring timely delivery while maintaining high-quality standards.

Performance Measurement and Optimisation:

- Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and objectives and key results (OKRs) to gauge the EDH's performance and the realisation of predefined goals.

- Analyse performance metrics to identify areas of improvement, optimising processes and systems to enhance productivity and customer satisfaction.

Stakeholder Communication:

- Serve as the technical spokesperson for the EDH, communicating progress, learnings, and the strategic vision to both internal and external stakeholders.

- Establish a cadence of regular updates to ensure transparency and foster a culture of accountability within and beyond the EDH.

We’re looking for someone with: 🧠💚

Experience leading Earth Observation and data science teams, with a strong background in either machine learning or geospatial analytics or a desire to oversee a team of this nature Proven track record of transitioning R&D work into production-ready solutions, exhibiting a strong production-first delivery ethos. Robust understanding of agile and iterative development methodologies, with experience in scaling such practices within growing organisations. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to inspire and lead cross-functional teams towards achieving a shared vision. A master's or higher degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Data Science, Earth Observation or related disciplines is preferred.

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!

- Enhanced parental leave 

- Up to 20 days paid sick leave 

- £500 WFH allowance 

- No corners cut in having the best tech to do your job

- Access to Mental Health support via Spill

- Monthly team socials

Location 🌍 

UK (with access to an office in London if you wanted to come in) 

Our Values 🙌

Own it: We believe in giving people the autonomy to own their impact.

Stay curious: Our business is built on transparency and debunking misperceptions.

Do what’s right - even when it’s hard: The right path isn’t always easy or obvious.

Collaborate with kindness: Great teams are built on open communication and respect.

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.