Symbrosia Inc
GIS & Seaweed Farm Site Selection Fellow
About the Organization:
Symbrosia is a Hawaiʻi-founded aquaculture company pioneering innovations in seaweed cultivation. Our flagship product, SeaGraze®, is a red seaweed-based livestock feed additive designed to substantially reduce enteric methane emissions from cattle. Symbrosia is establishing its next phase of cultivation and manufacturing operations in Indonesia. This work will focus on developing a scalable, cost-efficient production system that combines controlled land-based cultivation, reliable seawater access, and proximity to the infrastructure needed for processing and export.
Fellowship Description:
We’re seeking a GIS & Seaweed Farm Site Selection Fellow to support the identification and evaluation of potential locations for Symbrosia’s seaweed cultivation operations in Bali and surrounding regions of Indonesia. This is an applied, project-based role at the intersection of geospatial analysis, aquaculture planning, infrastructure assessment, and environmental science. The Fellow will develop a structured GIS-based site-selection model that helps Symbrosia compare potential locations and prioritize sites for field investigation.
The role will contribute to:
Mapping and screening potential seaweed farm locations
Evaluating seawater access, water quality, elevation, infrastructure, utilities, and environmental constraints
Developing a transparent site-ranking methodology
Producing maps and decision-support materials for site visits, engineering planning, and investment discussions
The Fellow will work closely with Symbrosia’s leadership and Indonesia operations team to translate technical farm requirements into practical geospatial criteria.
Responsibilities
GIS Mapping & Spatial Database Development Compile and organize relevant spatial datasets for Bali and other priority regions in Indonesia
Develop a centralized GIS database containing environmental, infrastructure, land-use, and logistical information
Map potential coastal and near-coastal locations suitable for land-based seaweed cultivation
Standardize datasets from multiple sources and document data quality, limitations, and assumptions
Produce clear, presentation-ready maps for internal planning and external discussions
Environmental & Physical Site Assessment Analyze coastal elevation, slope, topography, flood exposure, erosion risk, and proximity to seawater
Evaluate potential seawater intake and discharge locations
Map available information related to seawater temperature, water quality, salinity, currents, tides, and seasonal conditions
Identify environmental sensitivities, protected areas, conservation zones, and potential land-use conflicts
Assess exposure to natural hazards, including flooding, storms, coastal inundation, landslides, and volcanic activity where relevant
Infrastructure & Operational Analysis
Map access to roads, ports, airports, electrical infrastructure, freshwater, telecommunications, and industrial services
Evaluate proximity to laboratories, universities, aquaculture operators, suppliers, and potential workforce centers
Identify locations with existing pump stations, seawater infrastructure, aquaculture facilities, or other reusable assets
Assess logistics for moving equipment, biomass, finished product, and personnel Support preliminary analysis of electricity availability and infrastructure requirements for pumping, cooling, and processing systems
Site Screening & Prioritization
Translate Symbrosia’s technical and operational requirements into measurable site-selection criteria
Develop a weighted scoring model to compare candidate locations
Categorize sites based on suitability, risk, development complexity, and expected capital requirements Identify critical data gaps requiring field verification or specialist assessment
Produce a prioritized shortlist of locations for site visits and further due diligence
Field Validation & Stakeholder Research
Support planning for site visits by preparing maps, coordinates, assessment forms, and field data collection tools
Assist the Indonesia operations team in validating GIS findings against on-the-ground conditions
Incorporate information gathered from landowners, local operators, government agencies, engineers, and community stakeholders
Update site rankings as new technical, legal, or commercial information becomes available
Maintain a record of why locations were advanced, deprioritized, or eliminated
Documentation & Decision Support
Maintain clear documentation of methodologies, data sources, assumptions, and scoring criteria
Prepare site profiles summarizing the opportunities, constraints, infrastructure requirements, and outstanding questions for each candidate location
Develop visual materials for management, board, investor, and engineering discussions
Support handoff of GIS files, maps, datasets, and analytical tools to Symbrosia’s long-term operations team
Present findings and recommendations to Symbrosia leadership at defined project milestones
Expected Fellowship Outputs:
A structured GIS database of potential cultivation regions and candidate sites
A map-based screening tool showing key environmental, infrastructure, and logistical criteria
A documented site-selection and weighting methodology
A longlist of potential sites and a prioritized shortlist for field evaluation Individual site profiles for the highest-priority locations
A final site-selection report summarizing findings, risks, data gaps, and recommended next steps
Organized GIS files and documentation that can be updated as the project develops
Qualifications:
Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a degree program in Geography, Geographic Information Systems, Environmental Science, Marine Science, Coastal Engineering, Urban or Regional Planning, Aquaculture, or a related field Experience using GIS software such as ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, QGIS, Google Earth Engine, or similar platforms Understanding of spatial analysis, suitability modeling, remote sensing, and geospatial data management Ability to work with environmental, topographic, infrastructure, and land-use datasets Strong analytical, research, and technical documentation skills Ability to communicate complex spatial findings through clear maps, summaries, and presentations Detail-oriented and comfortable working independently in a fast-paced, evolving project environment Interest in aquaculture, coastal systems, climate technology, and sustainable infrastructure Preferred Qualifications Experience conducting multi-criteria suitability analysis or weighted overlay modeling Familiarity with coastal aquaculture, seawater systems, marine infrastructure, or land-based cultivation Experience interpreting satellite imagery or remote-sensing data Knowledge of Indonesian geography, land-use systems, environmental conditions, or government data sources Experience conducting or supporting field surveys and GPS-based data collection Bahasa Indonesia proficiency or experience working in Indonesia is an advantage
Remote, with coordination across time zones
Time Commitment: 15 hours per week