Ontologist / Semantic Architect

About the Research

The Respectful Terminologies Platform Project (RTPP) is a key project of the National Indigenous Knowledge Language Alliance (NIKLA-ANCLA). The project builds on the efforts of generations of Indigenous people and allies working to create an Indigenous-centered platform featuring terminology that more accurately represents Indigenous cultural heritage and lived experience. The goal is to build an open, online platform providing multilingual terminologies and vocabularies (or metadata) that reflect Indigenous knowledge systems, histories, cultures, places, and people from our perspectives. Research is focused on working with Indigenous communities and allies to develop Indigenous protocols and community-driven solutions for controlled vocabularies. It will be used by museums, archives, libraries, cultural centres, and other knowledge organizations to enrich the information they share. Most importantly, it enables Indigenous communities to be known by the names and terms we determine for ourselves. The project has received a 1.8 million dollar grant to create and test prototypes of the project.

Job purpose

The ontologist / semantic analyst will be a part of the project team and will recommend, plan, test and implement metadata schemas and vocabulary structures. They will support the creation of the RTPP prototype. The prototype will support workflows to create structured vocabularies related to Indigenous communities. Particular attention will be paid to the possible integration of these structures into a variety of metadata management systems, including library and archival collection platforms. They will help develop data models; scope prototype development in relation to vocabularies; and advise on data governance, scale, sustainability and maintenance.

Duties and Responsibilities

Vocabulary Creation and Data management

• Assist to harmonize and develop controlled vocabularies, including data cleaning and reconciliation.
• Work with community and project members on community-created vocabularies to scope, model and develop workflows for the prototyping phases.
• Oversee the preparation of structured vocabularies for ingest into the platform.
• Review, edit, update, and verify data and metadata in the platform.

Training and Documentation

• Assist with the development of documentation of project initiatives as well as training and instructional materials relating to vocabulary management and use.
• Report on vocabulary work in project meetings and discuss progress and options.
• Ensure technical specifications are backwards and forward-compatible, with ongoing client training for accessibility & ease of use.
• Build in dynamic, responsive opportunities for critical feedback at every stage of development.

Research and Development

• Work with the development team to assist with research, recommendations, and testing of software related to vocabulary management.
• Assist with surveying community and project members on needs, including attention to workflows.
• Work with the prototype testing groups, Indigenous Advisory Circle and Technical Working Group to understand and define appropriate standards.
• Assist with the development of governance frameworks for controlled vocabularies
• Work with team to develop relationships with community/project partners for vocabulary prototyping.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Masters degree in Information Studies or allied degree with at least 3 years experience working in semantic technologies and/or metadata management OR a Bachelors degree in a technical field with at least 3 years of experience in semantic technologies and/or metadata management
• Experience with metadata schemas and the development of related vocabularies
• Experience or knowledge of semantic web standards and encoding (e.g. RDF, JSON-LD, SKOS, OWL, Schema.org, SPARQL) and data shape expressions (e.g SHAQL)
• Experience writing documentation and developing workflows
• Experience or familiarity with data governance, Indigenous data sovereignty
• Experience with multilingual environments and multilingual controlled vocabularies or taxonomies
• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and meet deadlines
• Effective verbal and written communication, particularly with people from a variety of technical and non-technical backgrounds

Assets

• Knowledge of best practices and international metadata standards and schemas (e.g. Library of Congress Subject Headings, Dublin Core, BIBFRAME, MARC, CIDOC-CRM, Wikidata) and familiarity with Community-specific vocabularies such as the Homosaurus
• Knowledge of Indigenous-specific issues within vocabulary and descriptive standards
• Knowledge of emerging standards, policies, and practices related to data, particularly with Natural Language Processing and ML
• Knowledge or experience with semantic web software tools (e.g. PoolParty, Wikibase, Research Space)
• Fluency in English. French is an asset.

Note: Interested in this work, but not sure you meet all the qualifications? Contact us anyway. Research shows that women and marginalised peoples are less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t fully meet the requirements. If you are interested and keen, we want to hear from you.

Application Deadline:  January 20, 2025