Data Engineer - Meteorological Metadata Mapping

ECMWF – European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

Organisation/Company: ECMWF – European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

Research Field: Computer science, Environmental science, Mathematics, Earth science, Physics

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1), Established Researcher (R3)

Country: Germany

Application Deadline: 13 Apr 2025 – 21:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract: Permanent

Job Status: Full-time

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Data Engineer – Meteorological Metadata Mapping
ECMWF – European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
Bonn, Germany

Job reference: VN25-019
Salary and Grade: Grade A2 EUR 89,168.64 (Germany) NET annual basic salary + other benefits
Deadline for applications: 13/04/2025
Department: Forecast and Services Department
Contract type: STF-PL
Contract Duration: 3.5 years up to 30 September 2028, with possibility of extension

The role

ECMWF has an exciting new opening for a motivated Data Engineer (A2) . In this role, you will work on the mapping between the meteorological data formats GRIdded Binary (GRIB) and Climate and Forecast NetCDF (CF-NetCDF).

As a member of the Data Archives and Dissemination Services (DADS) Team within the Production Services Section, you will hold a central function in improving the quality of metadata. You will work closely with colleagues in the DADS team, the Data Governance (DGOV) facilitators, and our Development Section. Contributing to the EU\’s Copernicus Programme includes collaborating daily with developers involved in the design, development, and testing of new toolsets. You will also liaise with key research scientists who are the domain experts behind ECMWF’s numerical weather prediction and Copernicus-funded climate and atmospheric composition services. Your colleagues in the team and beyond will be based across our offices in Reading, Bonn, and Bologna.

The team you will be working in is responsible for the archiving of operational and research data into the MARS archive and Fields DataBase (FDB), and the generation and dissemination of ECMWF’s products (PGEN). The team works closely with colleagues across the Centre, particularly when working on issues related to data formats.

The challenge

The data format made available to different user communities can be a barrier to maximizing data usage. Data presented in GRIB may not be used by groups who work primarily with NetCDF (Network Common Data Form), and vice versa. The quantity and quality of the metadata provided can also be variable and restrict interoperability and reusability (FAIRness). GRIB is the primary data format used by ECMWF and represents the largest fraction of the data produced and archived. However, a large proportion of ECMWF’s end users, particularly users of the Copernicus Programme\’s Climate and Atmosphere Data Stores (CDS, ADS), retrieve data in NetCDF. Our existing tools used to create NetCDF data from GRIB are no longer capable of adequately satisfying the multitude of use cases and need to evolve to serve the growing demand in the future. In taking up this role and challenge, we will provide training over the first few months to help you build up any additional expertise in data formats and related knowledge that you may need ahead of the main mapping work.

Your responsibilities

• Work with GRIB and CF-NetCDF experts in the DADS team to develop and maintain a mapping and a common data model using ontologies and code lists;
• Work systematically and rigorously through the large inventory of meteorological parameters generated by ECMWF, starting with those currently produced in operations and made available through the CDS and ADS;
• Capture the mapping requirements of each parameter and forecasting system;
• Support the development of new NetCDF attributes for parts of the mapping that currently do not exist in the CF-NetCDF convention;
• Contribute proposals for new attributes to submit to the CF-NetCDF convention and to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Expert Team on Data formats (ET-Data) for inclusion in the manual on codes;
• Work with the developers involved in the design, development, and testing of new toolsets.

What we are looking for

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to communicate with a wide range of technically skilled colleagues at ECMWF and in partner organisations, also to non-technical staff;
• Dedication and enthusiasm to work as part of a team, taking initiative to work collaboratively with other team members and project partners;
• Ability to work independently, but to know when it is important to seek advice;
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a proactive continuous improvement approach;
• Ability to work with precision and care and having a good awareness of the need to test thoroughly and document changes appropriately;
• Active listener seeking and respecting the views of others;
• Highly organised with the capacity to work on a diverse range of tasks to tight deadlines;
• Flexibility, with a willingness to adapt plans if partner organisations work at different paces, and if priorities shift over time.

Education

• A university degree (EQF Level 6) in physics, mathematics, computer science or a related subject, or equivalent professional experience.

Experience

• Demonstrated experience in delivering results in a project-type environment or a demonstrated ability to follow a methodical approach is essential;
• Experience in programming and use of scripting languages (such as Python) in a UNIX/Linux environment is desirable and will be useful for this role;
• Experience in working with meteorological data formats is an advantage;
• Experience with CF-NetCDF is an asset.

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge of standardised data formats for international exchange is required;
• Experience working in a scientific environment is desirable;
• Experience of working collaboratively on software development projects is desirable;
• Knowledge of scientific concepts and standard SI units would be highly desirable.

We encourage you to apply even if you feel you don\’t precisely meet all these criteria.

Candidates must be able to work effectively in English. A good knowledge of one of the Centre’s other working languages (French or German) is an advantage.

About ECMWF

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is a world leader in Numerical Weather Predictions providing high-quality data for weather forecasts and environmental monitoring. As an intergovernmental organisation, we collaborate internationally to serve our members and the wider community with global weather predictions, data, and training activities that are critical to contribute to safe and thriving societies.

The success of our activities depends on the funding and partnerships of our 35 Member and Co-operating States who provide the support and direction of our work. Our talented staff, together with the international scientific community, and our powerful supercomputing capabilities, are the core of a 24/7 research and operational centre with a focus on medium and long-range predictions. We also hold one of the largest meteorological data archives in the world.

Our mission: Deliver global numerical weather predictions focusing on the medium-range and monitoring of the Earth system to and with our Member States.

Our vision: World-leading monitoring and predictions of the Earth System enabled by cutting-edge physical, computational, and data science, resulting from a close collaboration between ECMWF and the members of the European Meteorological Infrastructure, will contribute to a safe and thriving society.

In addition, ECMWF has established a strong partnership with the European Union and has been entrusted with the implementation and operation of the Destination Earth initiative and the Climate Change and Atmosphere Monitoring Services of the Copernicus Programme, as well as being a contributor to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service. Other areas of work include High Performance Computing and the development of digital tools that enable ECMWF to extend provision of data and products covering weather, climate, air quality, fire, and flood prediction and monitoring.

Number of offers available: 1

Company/Institute: ECMWF – European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

Country: Germany

City: Bonn

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