---
title: 'Computational Ecologist at OXMAN'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/computational-ecologist-oxman-new-york-3mym7zb0rvph'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-04'
---

# Computational Ecologist at OXMAN

- **Company:** OXMAN
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Compensation:** $152k–$241k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-02-24
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-04
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/oxman/e32c6446-e2ab-4966-9aa7-901aeb2ee6e7/application

**Skills:** Python, C++, PyTorch, JAX, NumPy, SciPy, pandas, Git, Vectorization, Profiling, Optimization, Agent-based modeling, ODE/PDE modeling, Bayesian modeling, GIS, GeoPandas, rasterio, GDAL, PostGIS, xarray

> The Computational Ecologist develops and validates general ecosystem models to simulate ecological processes and inform design decisions. Responsibilities include researching ecosystem behaviors, developing quantitative metrics, and implementing efficient computational frameworks using Python and specialized ecologi...

## Job description

## OXMAN

OXMAN is a nature-based research and design company based in Manhattan. We incubate ventures and technologies that reimagine the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Working across disciplines—from architecture and ecology to materials science and computation, we develop nature-centric solutions to critical environmental challenges.

## EDEN

Nature provides humanity with services that are critical for survival: the sequestration of carbon, the filtration of water, and the production of the air we breathe. EDEN works to strengthen and regenerate these natural processes by cultivating biodiverse, resilient ecosystems that sustain life for all species—human and non-human alike.

EDEN is a digital design environment for engineering and designing ecosystems, modeling the flows, relationships, and processes that sustain them. We build tools that quantify how landscapes can be engineered to achieve specific performance goals, cooling cities, filtering water, sequestering carbon, and protecting key species, and use them to guide the design of ecologically active sites.

One hectare of well-designed landscape can sequester up to four times the annual emissions of an average home, filter enough water to support thirteen neighborhoods, and reduce ambient temperatures by more than ten degrees. EDEN enables designers to plan intentionally for these outcomes through analysis, simulation, and optimization, turning ecological function into an actionable design parameter.

Our design team works directly with clients to apply these tools toward site-specific goals, from logistics campuses and residential communities to rewilding and climate-resilient developments. Together with our clients, we are designing biodiverse, productive environments that serve both humanity and nature.

## KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

- Conceptualization and Research: Research and identify key ecosystem behaviours and interactions to create a comprehensive conceptual framework for general ecosystem modelling
- Ecosystem Behaviour Modelling: Leading of the modelling of core ecosystem dynamics and interactions as defined in the conceptualization phase such as plant growth and succession etc.
- Ecosystem Metrics Development: Development of quantitative metrics to assess ecosystem health, stability, and service provision.
- Implementation and Documentation: Models will be implemented in a computationally efficient framework with thorough documentation to ensure usability and reproducibility.
- Help in the gathering and integration of relevant environmental, ecological, and spatial data to underpin model parameters and validate model outcomes.
- Conduct data analysis to in order to derive key insights necessary to develop ecosystem models and validate model parameters.
- Technical documentation: Prepare comprehensive documentation outlining model assumptions, data sources, code structure, and operation for using and maintaining the models.
- Continually communicate with the OXMAN team to ensure review of research, implementation, and seamless integration of the model into their workflows.
- Participate in regular progress meetings (weekly or biweekly) with the team to review milestones, discuss challenges, and plan next steps.
- Provide status updates summarizing progress, challenges encountered, and any adjustments to the project plan.

## KEY GOALS AND OUTCOMES

- Development, deployment, and validation of a general ecosystem model within two quarters of the start date

## REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

- A Ph.D. or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Computational Ecology, Systems Biology, or a related field.
- Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, C++, or similar, with experience in frameworks like PyTorch, or JAX.
- Strong foundation in modeling techniques (e.g., differential equations, agent-based modeling, network models, Bayesian approaches) for simulating ecological processes or population dynamics.
- Experience handling large and often messy datasets common in ecology (e.g., climate data, remote sensing imagery, biodiversity records). Knowledge of spatial databases, parallel computing, or cloud-based data storage is a plus

## TECHNICAL SKILLS

- Python (NumPy/SciPy/pandas), reproducible research workflows, and Git-based version control
- High-performance model implementation (vectorization, profiling/optimization); familiarity with PyTorch or JAX
- Ecological modeling methods: agent-based, ODE/PDE, network, and Bayesian/statistical modeling; uncertainty quantification
- Geospatial analytics (GIS; GeoPandas/rasterio/GDAL) and spatial databases (e.g., PostGIS) for integrating environmental and biodiversity data
- Remote sensing and gridded data handling (e.g., xarray; land cover/land use change; climate rasters); comfort with messy real-world datasets
- Clear technical documentation (assumptions, data provenance, APIs) and maintainable code (testing, modular design)

## ESSENTIAL QUALITIES

- Systems-level thinker who can translate ecological theory into tractable computational abstractions
- Strong research judgment: literature synthesis, hypothesis framing, and disciplined model validation
- Pragmatic engineer: prioritizes computational efficiency, robustness, and reproducibility over “toy” prototypes
- Comfortable working with uncertainty, noisy data, and incomplete ground truth, typical of ecological problems
- Clear communicator in interdisciplinary teams (design, biology, engineering); proactive stakeholder management
- High ownership: independently drives milestones while aligning work to EDEN workflow integration needs

## About OXMAN

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: OXMAN is a design company fusing design, technology, and biology to invent multi-scale products and environments that empower synergy between Nature and humanity.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Startup/Early Stage)
- **Headquarters**: New York, New York, United States (787 Eleventh Ave)
- **Founded**: 2024 (public launch)
- **Founders**: Neri Oxman

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Design Services, Biotechnology, Materials Science, Architecture
- Target customers: B2B (corporate partners, industry clients), Academia, and Nature as a "co-client"
- Mission or purpose statement: To shift from human-centric design to Nature-centric design, creating design solutions by, for, and with Nature while advancing humanity. The company aims to heal the rift between Nature and humanity.

## Products & Services
- **O° Shoe (The O Shoe)**: A 100% biodegradable shoe made without petrochemicals, producing zero microplastics. Unveiled in October 2024. Represents the company's platform technology applied to consumer goods.
- **Platform Technologies**: R&D arm that invents platform technologies enabling design and production "by, for, and with Nature." These platforms can be applied across industries and scales—from consumer goods to urban plans, pharmaceuticals to apparel, organisms to rockets.
- **Design & Consulting Services**: Activist design practice that partners with industry and academia to implement Nature-centric values across design, manufacturing, construction, and operational practices.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding — Not publicly disclosed
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Goodman Group (partnership to explore design for ecosystem biodiversity and resilience), Foster + Partners (designed the OXMAN lab in NYC)
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of ~24 employees (+4.5% YoY growth); active job postings; public launch in October 2024 with significant press coverage; first product (O° Shoe) unveiled; partnership with major real estate group Goodman Group

## Competitive Advantages
- **Founder & Brand**: Founded by Neri Oxman, a world-renowned designer, architect, and former MIT Media Lab professor, giving the company immense credibility and a powerful network.
- **Interdisciplinary Approach**: Uniquely combines hardware, software, and "wetware" (biology) in a single practice, integrating an atelier, workshop, and lab.
- **Nature-Centric Design Philosophy**: A radical differentiator positioning Nature as a "co-client," moving beyond sustainability toward regeneration and synergy.
- **Platform Technologies**: Cross-scale, hierarchical design tools that can be applied across multiple industries, creating a defensible IP moat.
- **First Mover in Biodegradable Materials**: The O° Shoe is a tangible proof point of their platform's capability, addressing the massive microplastics problem.

## Strategic Focus
- **Platform Development**: Scaling their platform technologies for broader industry application across multiple sectors.
- **Partnerships**: Leading corporate partners in implementing Nature-centric values across their operations (e.g., Goodman Group).
- **Product Commercialization**: Bringing the O° Shoe and other bio-integrated products to market.
- **Talent Acquisition**: Building a world-class interdisciplinary team of designers, engineers, scientists, and makers.
- **Thought Leadership**: Advancing the "Nature-centric design" philosophy as a new paradigm for the design and construction industries.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Culture**: A clear, bold vision to heal the rift between Nature and humanity. Work is framed as a "calling" with profound impact.
- **Interdisciplinary Excellence**: Opportunity to work at the intersection of design, engineering, biology, and computation with a world-class team.
- **Creative & Intellectual Freedom**: Emphasis on taking risks, exploring "impossible" challenges, and pursuing profound questions.
- **Values**: The company culture emphasizes integrity, empathy, mediation of dichotomies (design/R&D, made/grown), balancing the timely and timeless, and pursuing the profound.
- **Work Environment**: Based in a first-of-its-kind atelier, workshop, and lab in New York City, designed by Foster + Partners.
- **Team Composition**: Small (~24 people), highly specialized team with backgrounds from MIT Media Lab, top universities, and leading design/tech firms. Emphasis on self-direction and collaboration across disciplines.
- **Location**: New York City (HQ) with presence in France. Hybrid/office policy not explicitly stated but likely in-person given the lab/workshop nature.

## Sources
1. [oxman.com](https://oxman.com/company)
2. [oxman.com](https://oxman.com/mission)
3. [oxman.com](https://oxman.com/careers)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxman)
5. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oxman-unveils-the-o-shoe---a-100-biodegradable-shoe-made-without-petrochemicals-producing-zero-microplastics-302290648.html)
6. [prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neri-oxman-launches-oxman-a-revolutionary-practice-transforming-design-generation-manufacturing-and-construction-for-the-simultaneous-benefit-of-humans-and-the-natural-environment-302264818.html)
7. [fosterandpartners.com](https://www.fosterandpartners.com/news/foster-partners-and-neri-oxman-complete-the-groundbreaking-design-and-innovation-lab-for-oxman)
8. [goodman.com](https://www.goodman.com/news/2024/oxman-partnership)

## Other roles at OXMAN

- [Prototype/Fabrication Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/prototype-fabrication-specialist-oxman-new-york-nbw5tsf17thr) — New York, NY
- [Plant Synthetic Biologist](https://feeny.ai/job/plant-synthetic-biologist-oxman-new-york-7a33g80cgs4w) — New York, NY
- [Computational Designer — Hybrid Living Textiles](https://feeny.ai/job/computational-designer-hybrid-living-textiles-oxman-new-york-3cde0rn1fksg) — New York, NY
- [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-oxman-new-york-fgbrsq0s70zk) — New York, NY
- [Senior Manager, People](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-manager-people-oxman-new-york-1ytxv2s36w6g) — New York, NY
- [Project Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/project-lead-oxman-new-york-p97cfrxn7yqz) — New York, NY
- [Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/designer-oxman-new-york-9zmgzndrzpff) — New York, NY
- [Future Talent](https://feeny.ai/job/future-talent-oxman-new-york-v4771yrvd83c) — New York, NY
- [Computational Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/computational-designer-oxman-new-york-cfz7jdtggk9w) — New York, NY
- [Machine Learning Research Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/machine-learning-research-engineer-oxman-new-york-hawdr0ckhw70) — New York, NY