Benard Onyango

Geospatial Engineer

Mobile: +254 727 597 235

Website:https://benardonyango.com

Email:benardonyango16@gmail.com

Github:https://github.com/benardonyango

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benard-rodgers-onyango/

Dedicated and hardworking Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing Specialist with 6 years

of demonstrated experience working in Government, private and the international affairs industry.

Currently employed at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a GIS Developer.

Skilled in developing machine learning models, Google Earth Engine, QGIS, ArcGIS, Python-Django,

Geonode, R, JavaScript, GeoServer and PostGIS. Strong collaboration skills and proven history of

application development. Highly organized, self-motivated and strong proficiency in project management,

technical research, oral and communication skills. Solid reputation for applying analytical and problem

solving skills to clearly present requested geographic data in a way that’s easy to comprehend.

Skills Highlights

Key

competencies

 Proven experience in Land Surveying; collection, management and

analyses of large-scale surveying and Geospatial data;

 Extensive knowledge of geospatial cloud systems and spatial data

infrastructure (SDI);

 Implemented, rolled and developed geospatial applications based on

Google App Engine (GAE) and Google Earth Engine (GEE);

 Hands on experience with large-scale database management systems, such

as PostgreSQL / PostGIS, including BigData

 High proficiency in programming languages for geospatial applications

such as Java, Python, HTML, XML and GML; and Django web

frameworks;

 Proven ability to test geospatial research findings and hypotheses with

strong skills in both quantitative and qualitative data aspects;

 Demonstrated experience of independently managing work programs and

ability to handle multiple tasks and deliver quality results ahead of time;

 Adherence to high professional and ethical standards and conformity with

Constitution of Kenya, 2010 on leadership and Integrity;

 Adept in analytical writing and editing with originality and creativity.

Ability to coordinate field activities and train assistants;

 Aptitude in training of professionals on ICT and Geoinformation;

 Proven experience in application of modern research techniques, including

online surveys and automated data collection for geospatial applications;

 Ability to present academic and professional ideas in an articulate manner;

Scholarships

and Awards

Present

Research /

Specialty

 University of Nairobi Scholarship to pursue Msc in GIS,

2017 – 2019

 Agriculture and Food Security, Climate Change, Water

Resources and Hydro-Climatic Disasters such as floods and

drought, Land Use Land Cover, Big data analysis, Cloud

computing, Machine Learning and Deep learning, Web

Mapping

EXPERIENCE

Professional

experience

Employer: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),

Somalia

Position: GIS Developer (2019 August – Present)

Responsibilities

 Contribute to the development of Geonode, a SWALIM

Geospatial online web portal.

 Maintain and support data publication in Geonode with the

help of GIS/RS team to ensure all datasets are updated and

well documented.

 Assist in development of GIS web applications, geo-

processing tools and map production

 Provide maintenance and support of the Database and

Geospatial Servers.

 Assist in quality assurance checks on SWALIM’S GIS

Web based systems and recommend updates or new

techniques when applicable.

 Assist in satellite images pre-processing & mosaicking in

preparation for image interpretation and their regular

update.

 Develop tools to automate processing of remote sensing

data including image classification, support onscreen

digitization, extraction of features and generation of

tabular information to support SWALIM and other FAO

Somalia sectors.

 Assist in producing scripts for image processing & analysis

through Google Earth Engine and other web based

geospatial platforms.

 Develop tools for geospatial data analysis using open

source software including QGIS.

 Design and implement data work-flow processes for web

applications.

 Document and develop user manuals for all GIS/RS

applications developed.

Achievements

 Developed scripts in Google Earth Engine to automatically

map floods from satellite images.

 Developed a deep learning model to automatically map

charcoal kilns in the southern part of Somalia.

 Involved in GIS climate data preparation and analysis for

the drought early warning system on a monthly basis.

 Developed a flood mapping application using Google

Earth Engine, Django, GeoServer and PostGIS.

 Developed and continuously maintaining the department's

geo-portal system.

Employer: Lunar Arch Limited

Position: Database Administrator (February 2018 – July 2019)

Responsibilities

 Managed a group of 20+ people.

 Performed quality checks on the data produced by my

colleagues.

 Assisted in publishing and maintaining layers in

GeoServer.

 Managed all the data sets in PostGIS.

 Created triggers in PostGIS to automatically back up data.

 Monitored the database by proactively resolving database

issues and maintaining it.

 Set up and controlled user profiles and access levels for

each database segment to protect important data.

Achievements

 Part of a team that developed a QGIS plugin to

automatically back up the data produced.

 Developed scripts to automatically publish GIS data in

GeoServer.

 Developed an in-house application using GeoServer,

PostGIS and QGIS to enable the concurrent access and

editing of data.

 Reduced cost of IT by implementing the systems using

OpenSource tools.

Employer: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)

Position: GIS Technician (December 2017 – February 2018)

Responsibilities

 I was mainly involved in the creation of Enumeration Area

(EA) maps in preparation for the 2019 census.

Employer: Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research

Organization (KALRO)

Position: GIS/RS Specialist (September 2016 – July 2017)

Responsibilities

 Performing crop suitability analysis using QGIS and R.

 Creating Digital Soil Maps (DSM) using R.

 Creating a web mapping manual to assist colleagues

understand the basic concepts of web mapping.

 Supervision of students on attachment.

Achievements

 Managed to set up an internal system using PostGIS to

enable concurrent access and editing of GIS data.

Employer: Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP)

CCRP is a program of the McKnight Foundation that has funded

agricultural research in Africa and South America since 1980s.

Position: GIS Technician (May 2016 – August 2016)

Responsibilities:

 I was the head of GIS department.

 Collect data on from farmers on farming practices, level of

education, health and nutrition data from farmers in Kitale

using ODK.

 Train research team members on open source GIS

software.

 Provide oversight and guidance to ensure creation of high-

quality maps for each of the surveyed communities.

Achievements

 Successful preparation of community maps that were delivered

to local schools to assist in their studies.

Education and

Professional

Development

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI, KENYA

Master of Science in Geographic Information Systems, 2019

Thesis title: "Towards Performance Improving Techniques of Web

Based GIS: An Empirical Case Study of An NSDI Prototype

Portal"

Gave back to the University by teaching third year undergraduate

students R programming.

I have been involved in a number of activities as a way of freely

giving back to the University.

I midwifed the creation of an alumni group that is currently

offering training sessions to 3rd, 4th and 5th year students on the

following topics:

 Google Earth Engine using Python & JavaScript

 Web mapping - PostGIS, GeoServer, Leaflet, Geonode

 Python and R for geospatial data science

 Mobile application development

 QGIS

 Guiding 5th years on their final year projects.

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI, KENYA

Bachelor of Science in Geospatial Engineering (Second class

Upper Honors), 2016

Project Title: Developing A Web Based GIS Application For

Residential Real Estate Transactions. Case Study: Nairobi

County

Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, 2011

Maseno School (A-), KENYA

Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, 2005

MMSHAH PRIMARY SCHOOL, KENYA

Professional Courses

 NASA’s Applied Remote Sensing Training Program

(ARSET), 3

to 5

December 2019.

“Using SAR in Google Earth Engine for Disaster and

Hydrological Applications”.

Interests and

Responsibilities

 Research

 Nature and wildlife Photography

 Programming