Luke Swaby
- @LukeSwaby
- | He/Him
Hi All,
I'm looking for advice regarding a career move into Conservation AI, and figured I’d throw my case out to the wisdom of the crowd.
I'm currently a Data Research Scientist at a leading multinational defence company. However, wildlife has been my driving passion since before I could walk, and after years of intentionally broadening my technical skillset I now feel equipped to make a meaningful impact, given the right opportunity.
As such, I'm searching far and wide for such opportunities, but given how niche a field Conservation AI is, these seem sparse. As expected, this will be require a little more than a standard job hunt!
There are several companies/job boards I scan frequently, but I was wondering if anyone who has already made the leap has any insights that could help?
Very much appreciated if so!
Many thanks,
Luke
(A little more about me: I focus primarily on low to mid-TRL academic research across various fields of advanced AI—including computer vision, deep reinforcement learning, graph machine learning, and LLMs for robotics—with a background in bioinformatics (e.g. genomics, phylogenetics, and behavioural ecology. As such, I am especially interested in things like AI for bioacoustics/camera trap monitoring/anti-poaching. I've attached my CV to this post on the off chance anyone has any ideas. )
Luke_Swaby_CV.pdf19 February 2025 1:00pm
Interesting CV. You could apply some of that background to anti -poaching operations I'm sure :) Some LLM controlled drones sent off to autonomously track poachers would be most welcome. Heck, when I get a little bigger I might hire you :)
Margaux Armfield
Wildlife Protection Solutions (WPS)
22 February 2025 7:27am
Hey Luke! I made the move from Defense tech to Conservation tech last year and could not be happier! I am a software engineer rather than AI engineer though. WildLabs is definitely the best place to find conservation tech jobs in my opinion. It takes a long time to find one, so just be patient :) When I was looking for a conservation tech job, I found that monitoring the WildLabs career section was the best way to find opportunities, but occasionally other ones showed up on LinkedIn or Glassdoor.
I know of a couple orgs that are at the intersection of conservation and AI, but they are based in the US, so I'm not sure if that's helpful for you or not...
- Allen Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AI2)
- AI for Good Lab at Microsoft
- Conservation X Labs
- Rainforest Connection
- WildMon
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Yale's Map of Life project at the Center for Biodiversity and Global Change
- Stanford's Natural Capital project
Those last three may be more software / data science than AI... Also, have you joined the AI for Conservation slack channel? There may be more resources there!
I work at Wildlife Protection Solutions, which is a Conservation Tech NGO. We use AI (primarily for anti-poaching & ecological monitoring), but we are more focused on integrating existing models with our software, rather than training new ones. Also, have you checked out the Inventory, here on WildLabs? It has information about products / companies that work in conservation tech, so you could scan that for AI ones and then go to their websites to see if they are hiring.
It took me several years of consistent searching and applications to find this job, but I'm so glad that I kept looking and didn't lose hope! I definitely think its a growing field, and your background / interests align really well with industry needs! Just keep checking WildLabs Career page regularly and trying to identify organizations that you are interested, and then follow them on LinkedIn to see when they post job opportunities. A lot of conservation tech organizations are small, so it may be worth reaching out and asking them if they are hiring AIML engineers in the near future. Conservation tech is a small, friendly, and connected industry, so networking online, here on WildLabs, or at conferences can help a lot too.You can also participate in online coding challenges in conservation tech, which is a good way to show your interest in the industry and meet new people. I found a MoveApps coding challenge through WildLabs last year, and it was a super fun way to build my experience in conservation software! Fruitpunch AI also posts conservation / sustainability related coding challenges as well.
Good luck in your search!! :)
26 February 2025 3:41pm
Hi Luke, I saw this job posted on the AI for Conservation Slack community the other day, no idea if it's a fit (haven't checked your resume or read the full job description) but you might want to join that group as well as check out this post:
Kim Hendrikse