Geographic Information System (GIS) Specialist

Universities of Wisconsin•Madison, WI

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Center for Health Disparities Research (CHDR) is seeking a highly motivated Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist to join their dynamic, growing, and multidisciplinary team. This role offers the opportunity to contribute to research projects with significant influence, including a large-scale study on social determinants of health in the context of Alzheimer's Disease. The CHDR's work broadly focuses on understanding how fundamental factors like race, ethnicity, and identity interact with geopolitical, socioeconomic, healthcare, cultural, social, psychological, physiological, genetic, and cellular factors to produce different population health outcomes. The specialist will provide technical and analytical expertise for spatial analyses and research, conduct geospatial data analysis, manage and produce datasets, and create maps and data visualizations for various projects. The role involves working on multi-unit projects, both internal and external to UW-Madison, such as developing a geospatial research dataset on an Azure cloud platform for a 24-site consortium, creating data visualizations for publications, and collaborating with data analysts and IT professionals. Under the guidance of the Director of Geospatial Operations, the GIS specialist will assist in expanding geographically-based metrics and tools for research and developing/validating geographically-linked metrics for healthcare disparities and outcomes. The Neighborhood Atlas® is cited as an example of the impact of geographic information science in this field.

Requirements

Minimum of one year of experience with geographic information science, cartography, geography, or a related field
Excellent organizational skills, strong attention to detail, and the flexibility to work both independently and collaboratively.
Excellent interpersonal skills with strong oral and written communication skills.
Continuous work eligibility in the United States.

Nice To Haves

Experience with data collection, data management, REDCap, or similar research databases.
Experience in harmonizing varied data sources and manipulating geospatial time series data.
Experience with large scale geocoding processes including custom geocoding solutions.

Responsibilities

Collaborates with other IT staff to deliver project deliverables and visuals
Gathers, verifies, and coordinates data used for spatial analysis, data sciences, field operations, mapping, and data visualizations across programs and other agencies
Creates maps and performs a wide range of geospatial analyses in support of a variety of projects
May support geospatial field data collection efforts
Adheres to established cartographic standards and quality assurance/quality control processes
May train and consult with GIS users as needed
Manages a wide variety of project-specific and reference geospatial data in accordance with defined data management standards