Soil Database Manager/Developer

Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

Role highlights

• Great opportunity to shape and advance national soil data systems in a high-impact role
• Join our dynamic team driving innovation in environmental data and digital solutions
• Play a key role in supporting sustainable land use through trusted soil data management

About CSIRO

As Australia's national science agency, CSIRO is solving the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. Many of our iconic innovations were once considered impossible until someone, just like you, joined us and took on the challenge.

Visit CSIRO.au for more information.

The opportunity

We’re looking for a passionate and forward-thinking Soil Database Manager/Developer to join CSIRO’s Soil Monitoring and Information team. In this exciting role, you will help lead the evolution and delivery of CSIRO’s operational soil data infrastructure, including stewardship under the Australian National Soil Archive (ANSA) of the NatSoil database, the Soil Spectral Library, and other core systems within the CSIRO Soil Information System (CSIS).

You will be instrumental in developing and maintaining robust data environments and access systems, including APIs that support seamless integration with national initiatives like the Australian National Soil Information System (ANSIS) and the National Soil Monitoring Program (NSMP). Working closely with data engineers, software developers, and soil science experts, as well as various external stakeholders, you’ll apply your expertise to ensure soil data is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable), trusted and built to serve long-term national outcomes.

If you're passionate about utilising data to support environmental science and national sustainability goals, we would love to hear from you!

Your high-level duties will include:

• Leading the management and oversight of the database components within the CSIRO Soil Information System (CSIS) under the Australian National Soil Archive (ANSA), including schema maintenance, database performance and integrity, security protocols, backup and migration processes, monitoring, scheduled reporting, and the development and documentation of data management and access policies.
• Designing, implementing, evaluating, and documenting new database schemas to enhance data handling, quality control, and support for emerging soil data types. Applying innovative and interoperable data management approaches, such as Observations & Measurements (O&M), feature-based models, data fabrics, RDF/triple stores, and knowledge graphs.
• Coordinating the ingestion of new soil datasets—from curation and prioritisation to validation, upload, and registration of data management plans. Supporting data wranglers and other users through training, documentation, and promotion of best practices in soil data standards.
• Developing tools, queries, and database processes to support a full data lifecycle—from ingestion to delivery via APIs—in collaboration with software engineers and in support of key CSIS components, including the Australian National Soil Archive, the CSIRO National Soil Database (NatSoil), and field data systems.
• Continually investigating and applying new methods to enhance data interoperability, accessibility, and quality. Contributing to strategic planning and providing informed recommendations for the sustainable development of CSIS.

Role particulars

Location and office arrangements: Canberra (Black Mountain), ACT

Salary: AU$114K – AU$123K per annum (pro-rata for part-time) plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure & work schedule: Specified Term of 4 years

Reference: 99710

As the successful candidate, you will bring:

Essential criteria:

• Tertiary qualifications in Information Technology or a related field, or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and education.
• Demonstrated  experience in database development and administration, with a proven track record of managing and maintaining complex data systems.
• Strong knowledge and practical experience in core aspects of database administration, including performance optimisation, data integrity, security, backup and recovery, and user access management.
• Proficiency in a variety of data modelling and information management methodologies, including both traditional and modern approaches suited to interoperable and scalable systems.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with specialist IT teams, fostering collaboration across disciplines to deliver integrated and functional system solutions.

Desirable criteria:

• Demonstrated knowledge and/or experience with current trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in database management systems (DBMS), including modern approaches to cloud-based and serverless data storage and management.
• Practical experience with key development tools and technologies, including Microsoft SQL Server, C#, Visual Studio, ASP.NET, Web API, GitHub, OpenAPI, and Swagger, with the ability to apply these in a collaborative development environment.
• Familiarity with soil databases and an understanding of Australian soils and landscapes, or a strong willingness and capacity to develop expertise in this domain.

For full details about this role please review the Position Description.

Not sure if you meet all the criteria?

While it is CSIRO policy that the successful candidate must meet all the essential criteria, there are many ways to demonstrate this. Don’t let the list discourage you. If you are unsure about applying, please reach out to the contact person in the Position Description.

Setting you up for success

We are committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible to everyone. We recognise that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. Please contact the Talent Acquisition Partner via email (see details in the Position Description) and let us know how we can support you.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this role, you must be either an:

• Australian or New Zealand Citizen;
• Australian Permanent Resident; or
• Australian Temporary Resident, with an existing valid visa and unrestricted work rights for the duration of the specified term (and no requirement for visa sponsorship).

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements. 

Life at CSIRO and Flexible work arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process. CSIRO also offers a range of leave entitlements, benefits and career development opportunities. To find out more, visit Careers at CSIRO.

Inclusion and belonging

Solving Australia's greatest challenges takes a diversity of minds and lived experiences. We know diverse teams are more effective and deliver more innovative outcomes. As an equal employment opportunity organisation, we are committed to creating diverse and inclusive teams where people feel they belong. We recognise true diversity encompasses all ages, abilities, cultures, faiths, levels of education, genders, sexualities, diversity of thought and much more. We focus on hiring people who share our values of People First, Further Together, Making it Real and Trusted.

CSIRO holds Gold Status for the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and a Science in Australia Gender Equity Bronze Award.

Child safety

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.

How to apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter addressing the essential selection criteria, and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

We strongly encourage you to apply early as we will be reviewing applications as they come through. CSIRO reserves the right to withdraw this advert prior to the closing date as we are actively looking for suitable talent for our upcoming projects.

Applications close

25 June 2025, 11:00pm AEST