News — 19 September, 2024

Staff Spotlight Series: Kshitij Sharma

Each quarter, we feature one of our all-star staff members in a Staff Spotlight Series. Staff featured in this Series have been peer-nominated for their superb performance and values-driven work. This quarter, we spotlight Kshitij Sharma, HOT's Product Owner for Map Data Access Services.

Tell us a bit about how your career/personal journey led you to the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT).

My journey to HOT began with my involvement in open-source projects, particularly OpenStreetMap (OSM), which greatly interested me. I was inspired by numerous community initiatives aimed at helping rural municipalities make informed decisions during disasters. Professionally, I worked as a geomatics engineer, developing softwares with a focus on spatial data and open-source technologies. This combination of interests and skills naturally led me towards HOT. When I initially applied, I was primarily a passionate contributor to open-source projects. Bo, the Director at that time, placed immense trust in me by offering me a position. It was an incredible opportunity, and living up to those expectations required significant effort and dedication. The experience of transitioning from a passionate volunteer to a professional in the field was both challenging and rewarding. It took a lot of hard work and perseverance, but it allowed me to merge my personal interests with my professional career in a meaningful way.

Who/what are some of your biggest inspirations within HOT and/or wider OSM community?

Being able to relate the work I’m doing to actual impact on the ground.

What are you most excited about for the future of HOT / OSM?

OSM has changed the way people think about openness in data, and HOT has demonstrated how that open map data can be utilized in disaster response and preparedness. I think together they can help humankind.

What is your current role at HOT, and how has it evolved?

I started as a Backend Engineer, which allowed me to develop a solid foundation for problem-solving. As I gained experience and confidence, I transitioned into a Product Owner for map data access services. Advancement in my career occurred when I worked on the fAIr project, a free AI initiative that sparked my interest in AI. This led to my current position as an AI Engineer, which has also motivated me to pursue my master’s degree. Throughout my time at HOT, I have led a couple of key projects, including the raw-data-api project, which helped establish our data access services. I also worked on making map data more accessible and user-friendly, and integrated these services with the Tasking Manager, simplifying work for volunteers and staff. Additionally, I ensured the reliability and consistency of our data for humanitarian efforts, and explored innovative methods to enhance our maps, such as utilizing vector tiles. My approach to problem-solving, rooted in thorough research and a focus on finding stable solutions with solid proof of concepts, has been instrumental in my growth and transition into an AI Engineer.

Kshitij is a Graduate Geomatics engineer from the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University Nepal. He has been engaged with OpenStreetMap since 2016. Besides that, he loves to play basketball, FIFA and travel in his free time.

What’s one thing that surprised you about your current role?

My current role promises a lot of possibilities and fields of research for me and I think this is what interests me the most and I get to implement the ideas. What could be better?

What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in spatial development?

I would say that specializing in a particular area can be incredibly beneficial. Being skilled in specifics can help you develop a deeper understanding and expertise in your chosen field. I am also still learning and growing so I guess learning never stops.

What’s the motto you live by?

Be kind to people; hard work will get you to the situations you want to be in.

What’s your hidden talent?

I do write poems sometimes 😉

Learn more about Kshitij here.

Photos courtesy of Kshitij Sharma