Senior Ontologist

We are now looking for a Senior Ontologist on the behalf of our client IKEA. Overview:Senior Ontologist is a key role within the IKEA Knowledge Graph ecosystem. Senior ontologists are responsible for the design, development, and maintenance of ontologies that underpin data integration, semantic enrichment, and knowledge management initiatives across the IKEA value chain. This role requires a deep understanding of semantic web standards and the ability to work independently, while ensuring consistency and alignment with the broader ontology strategy led by the Ontologist Leader.Key Responsibilities:Ontology Design and Development: Design, implement, and maintain high-quality ontologies and taxonomies to support various domains within the IKEA Knowledge Graph, ensuring they meet the organisation's needs and standards.Taxonomy Creation: Develop foundational taxonomies that align with IKEA data structures and business requirements for optimal knowledge representation and retrieval.Data Analysis: Work with and analyse diverse datasets in formats like JSON, Excel, and more, to extract meaningful insights and guide ontology development. Assess the structure, cleanliness, and relevance of these datasets to enable effective semantic integration within the IKEA Knowledge Graph.Collaborative Discussions: Participate actively in discussions regarding the adoption and integration of upper, mid-level, and core ontologies, ensuring semantic consistency and alignment across different domains.Best Practices Application: Apply best practices in ontology and taxonomy development, including the use of established standards and methodologies.Quality Assurance: Engage in ontology and taxonomy review and refinement processes to ensure the quality, accuracy, and relevance of the developed models.Tooling Proficiency: Utilise tools such as metaphactory and RDFox for ontology development and ensure the use of Git for version control and collaboration. Required Skills and Experience:Experience: Minimum of 5 years of experience in ontology design, development, and related semantic technologies. Ability to implement and maintain ontologies independently, with minimal supervision.Semantic Web Standards: Expertise in RDF(S), OWL, SKOS, SHACL, SPARQL, and other relevant W3C standards.Inferencing Rules: Proficiency in Datalog or other inferencing rule languages to support complex logic within the ontologies.Standard Serialisation Formats: Familiarity with common serialisation formats, such as Turtle (ttl), JSON-LD, etc.Version Control: Experience with Git processes, including branching, merging, and reviewing ontology-related changes.Tooling: Proficiency in ontology development tools such as metaphactory and RDFox to streamline ontology creation and management.Problem Solving: Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to analyse complex issues, evaluate trade-offs, and implement effective solutions.Communication: Strong communication skills to articulate complex concepts and collaborate effectively with the Ontologist Leader and other stakeholders.Driving Consensus: Demonstrated capability to drive consensus among diverse stakeholders, ensuring that different perspectives are considered and aligned with the overall ontology strategy.Attention to Detail: Keen attention to detail to ensure semantic accuracy and consistency across all ontology work. Preferred Qualifications:Experience: Prior experience in a similar role within a large organisation.Education: Advanced degree in Computer Science, Information Science, or a related field with a focus on semantic technologies. By joining IKEA as a Senior Ontologist, you will play a pivotal role in driving semantic excellence and contributing to the digital transformation of one of the world's leading retail brands.Start: ASAPEnd: 2026-08-31Option to extend: YesWorkload: 100%Number of hours (estimated): 1120hWorkplace: MalmöRemote: Yes We will present candidates on an ongoing basis. If you are of interest for this position, please apply directly!