VN 19/29 PASSIVE MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING SCIENTIST

VN 19/29 PASSIVE MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING SCIENTIST

Darmstadt, Germany

Within the Passive Microwave and Radio Occultation Competence Area (PMRO-CA), the Passive Microwave Remote Sensing Scientist will support the scientific development, validation and quality monitoring of products extracted from observations from passive microwave imagers and sounders of EUMETSAT and partners’ satellites, with initial focus on the Microwave Imager (MWI) of the EUMETSAT Polar System – Second Generation currently under development.

DUTIES

• Acquire knowledge specific to EUMETSAT’s passive microwave imaging and sounding instruments through participation in relevant instrument functional chain teams, and maintain scientific ownership of the key design features of the MWI instrument and of the MWI mission and applications;
• Generate and refine processing algorithms and product specifications for the processing chains, including definition of file formats and auxiliary data streams;
• Prototype product generation functions, generate and analyse performance budgets, and prepare representative test datasets for verification and validation purposes;
• Develop instrument-specific calibration and validation plans;
• Instigate and support the definition of external studies and the assessment of their results;
  Contribute to ground segment and/or instrument chain reviews, progress and technical meetings;
• Ensure the continued evolution of a state-of-the art scientific basis for the extraction of products from EUMETSAT passive microwave instruments;
• Support interactions with the world-wide user community on the operational exploitation of passive microwave measurements from EUMETSAT’s and partners’ missions.

QUALIFICATIONS

University degree or equivalent in remote sensing, physics, meteorology or another relevant discipline.

Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and have some knowledge of French.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Demonstrated scientific knowledge of passive microwave remote sensing physics, including microwave radiative transfer models;
• Proven experience of processing of data from space-borne passive microwave instruments:
• Strong experience in the coding of scientific application software;
• Experience working with user and research communities;
• Strengths in analysis, synthesis and communication, excellent inter-personal skills and a proven ability to apply these to interactions within a team and between teams;
• Demonstrated experience in writing scientific and technical documents.

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

The initial contract will be of 4 years’ duration, with subsequent 5 year contracts being awarded thereafter, subject to individual performance and organisation requirements. There is no limit to the amount of follow-up contracts a staff member can receive up to the EUMETSAT retirement age of 63 and there are certainly opportunities to establish a long career perspective at EUMETSAT.

This post is graded A2/A4 on the EUMETSAT salary scales. The minimum basic salary for this post is EURO 5,612 per month (net of internal tax) which may be negotiable based on skills and experience. The salary scale provides for increments on the anniversary of taking up employment, and scales are reviewed by the EUMETSAT Council with effect from 1 January each year. In addition to basic salary, EUMETSAT offers attractive benefits. Further information, including salary details, is available on the EUMETSAT web site.

EUMETSAT is committed to providing an equal opportunity work environment for men and women.
Please note that only nationals of EUMETSAT Member States may apply. The EUMETSAT Convention requires that Staff shall be recruited based on their qualifications, account being taken of the international character of EUMETSAT.

ABOUT EUMETSAT

EUMETSAT is Europe’s meteorological satellite agency. Its role is to establish and operate meteorological satellites to monitor the weather and climate from space - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This information is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation's Member and Cooperating States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide.

EUMETSAT also operates several Copernicus missions on behalf of the European Union and provide data services to the Copernicus marine and atmospheric services and their users.

As an intergovernmental European Organisation, EUMETSAT has 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.)

Closing date 05 August 2019