The Scene From Above Podcast S15E4: What “cloud-friendly” really means for Earth observation
Jan 30, 2026
Aimee Barciauskas, a data engineer at Development Seed who helps make Earth observation data cloud-friendly, explains what cloud-friendly really means beyond just storage. She discusses network-optimized formats, indexing, tooling, and community. Short takes cover AI as a productivity aid, practical learning paths, and the cultural and technical roadblocks to reproducible, frictionless geoscience workflows.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Cloud-Friendly Is Network-First
- Cloud-friendly means optimizing data for network access, not just storing it in the cloud.
- It requires metadata, indexes, libraries, and community to make geospatial data intuitive.
From Economics To Geospatial By Doing
- Aimee moved from economics to software and learned geospatial by doing project work at Development Seed.
- She learned earth science concepts on-the-job while building platforms like MAAP and VEDA.
Learn Python And Use Git
- Learn Python and use Git/GitHub to participate in collaborative earth science.
- Reuse others' code, publish yours, and iterate through open collaboration.