Technical Project Co-lead - ClimateLens

VOLUNTEER ROLE DESCRIPTION

Climate Resilient Communities ClimateLens Project | crc.place/climatelens

Role Title Technical Project Co-lead

Function ClimateLens

Reports To Strategic Lead

Role Level Senior (5+ years experience)

Time Commitment 7–10 hours per week

Start Date April 1, 2026

Duration Ongoing

Check-in Frequency Weekly meetings (initially), transitioning to biweekly

About Climate Resilient Communities

Climate Resilient Communities (CRC) is a volunteer-run not-for-profit operating under Transition Toronto. We work at the intersection of community, data & AI, and climate change to strengthen communities' capacity to bounce forward from climate impacts. Our mission is to help community groups effectively advocate for their needs and find solutions to environmental, social, and economic challenges exacerbated by the changing climate.

Learn more at https://crc.place

About the Project

ClimateLens is an evolving initiative at the intersection of climate change, data, and mental health. The project is currently transitioning from a research-focused mandate toward active advocacy — specifically around the mental health impacts of climate change on individuals and communities.

Our MVP roadmap reflects this evolution:

• MVP 1 (completed) — Understanding the the topics discussed about climate change on social media and the climate emotions detected within those conversations

• MVP 2 (in progress) — Understanding the connections between topics discussed about climate change on social media and the climate emotions detected within those conversations, and how these evolve dynamically over time

• MVP 3 — Building a taxonomy of climate anxiety: mapping, categorizing, and surfacing the emotional landscape of how people experience climate-related distress

This shift toward advocacy means ClimateLens is increasingly focused on translating data insights into real-world impact — informing mental health support systems, community conversations, and policy discussions around climate grief and anxiety. The Technical Project Co-lead will be central to building the robust, scalable systems that make this advocacy possible.

Role Purpose

The Technical Project Co-lead will own the end-to-end technical vision and execution of the ClimateLens platform — from system architecture and NLP pipeline design through to front-end delivery and LLM integration. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role that requires equal comfort

https://crc.place/climatelens/ https://crc.place/

with high-level architectural decision-making and deep implementation work. You will co-lead the technical team, set engineering standards, and ensure that ClimateLens is built as a reliable, scalable, and maintainable system capable of supporting both current MVPs and the project's long- term advocacy goals.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture & Technical Leadership

• Own the end-to-end technical vision for the ClimateLens platform — defining system architecture, setting engineering standards, and making key design decisions that ensure long-term scalability and maintainability

• Provide hands-on co-leadership across the codebase, guiding the technical team through implementation decisions, trade-offs, and evolving requirements

Data, NLP & LLM Pipelines

• Lead the design and implementation of data and NLP pipelines that power ClimateLens — from raw data ingestion through to model outputs — including topic modelling, emotion analysis, and LLM-enhanced workflows

• Ensure pipelines are robust, reproducible, and adaptable as the project evolves across its MVP phases

Frontend & Data Visualization

• Oversee the development of front-end interfaces and interactive data visualizations that translate complex NLP and ML outputs into accessible, compelling experiences for non- technical audiences

Internal Collaboration

• Work closely with the Technical Project Co-lead, Project Manager, Product Manager, data/AI contributors, and other volunteers to align technical execution with project goals and delivery timelines

• Foster a culture of shared ownership, code quality, and continuous improvement within the technical team

External Collaboration

• Engage with external partners, community stakeholders, and subject matter experts as needed to inform technical decisions, validate outputs, and ensure the platform serves its intended advocacy purpose

Required Qualifications

• Senior-level proficiency in Python with a strong track record of writing clean, modular, production-ready code and architecting maintainable systems

• Deep hands-on experience designing and implementing NLP pipelines end-to-end, including topic modelling (e.g. LDA, BERTopic) and emotion/sentiment analysis

• Demonstrated experience with LLM enhancement techniques — including prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and model evaluation frameworks

• Proven ability to design and implement full-stack data and ML systems, from data ingestion and model development through to front-end delivery

• Experience with Streamlit for web application development and maintenance

• Deep familiarity with Git and GitHub workflows — branching strategies, pull requests, code reviews, and repository management

• Demonstrated technical leadership or co-lead experience, including code review, mentoring contributors, and architectural decision-making

• Strong ability to debug complex issues across data pipelines and ML/AI systems, with close attention to performance and edge cases

• Clear and effective communicator who can translate technical decisions and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Comfortable operating in a co-lead capacity with shared ownership, accountability, and collaborative decision-making

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Experience with vector databases or search infrastructure for embedding storage and retrieval

• Familiarity with backend architecture principles, API design, and scalable system design patterns

• Experience working in Agile environments and collaborating closely with cross-functional teams

• Background in environmental, climate, mental health, or social impact projects

• Experience in volunteer or distributed team environments within nonprofit or civic tech contexts

• Passion for climate justice, community empowerment, and responsible AI

Key Deliverables & Success Metrics

• Reliable, well-documented NLP pipelines covering topic modelling, emotion detection, and other workflows

• Achievements of MVP 2 and MVP 3 goals

• A deployed, interactive Streamlit web application with dashboard visualizations accessible to non-technical audiences

• Technical and policy reports on findings suitable for both research and advocacy audiences

• Codebase that meets team standards: modular, tested, version-controlled, and maintainable by incoming contributors

• Positive team feedback on technical clarity, leadership quality, and collaborative decision- making

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their application through the Google Form below. Please include a brief statement of interest explaining why you are passionate about this role and any relevant experience.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/s6ULESPkGP9UiiEq7

Climate Resilient Communities values diversity and inclusion, seeing volunteers as essential partners and co-creators.

We value their diverse perspectives and community knowledge, encouraging them to challenge and guide our initiatives.

https://forms.gle/s6ULESPkGP9UiiEq7