Remote Sensing Scientist– Altimetry

EUMETSAT is Europe’s meteorological satellite agency – monitoring the weather and climate from space – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We are currently looking for an experienced Remote Sensing Scientist to join our international team of young and inspiring engineers and industry professionals, tasked with driving innovation within the Space, Satellite and Earth Observation sector.

This role is routed in the mission of EUMETSAT and will provide the opportunity to work with leading IT, Space and Earth Observation organisations and domain experts to make a positive impact on society!

EUMETSAT’s activities in the ocean surface topography chain has substantially expanded these last years with the Copernicus Programme.

The Sentinel-3 marine mission is today fully operational. It is operated by EUMETSAT which has the responsibility to deliver the marine products and services from the Surface Topography Mission instruments. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission is operated by EUMETSAT and is the new Reference Altimetry Mission for the worldwide altimetry constellation since April 2022. Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-6 satellites (including recurrent units) will thus provide, essential topography products and services for operational oceanography through at least 2030.

Looking further ahead, EUMETSAT is starting the preparation of the future Copernicus altimetry missions to launch in the coming years: these are the next generation of Copernicus satellites (Sentinel-3 Topography NG and Sentinel-6 NG) and the CRISTAL mission, that will provide additional SAR altimeter measurements over the global ocean.

As a member of the Altimetry Team in the Marine Applications Competence Area of the Remote Sensing and Products (RSP) Division, the Remote Sensing Scientist – Altimetry will be responsible and will contribute to the scientific development, maintenance, evolution and validation of remote sensing products derived current and future altimetry missions operated by EUMETSAT.

What you’ll be doing

• Support altimetry mission in operations (Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-6) with respect to processing anomalies, change requests, new processing baselines and baseline regression testing;
• Plan, develop and perform the calibration, validation and monitoring of altimeter products from the current missions, including with development of required tools and methods;
• Support preparation and completion of commissioning activities for the new missions to come (Sentinel-3 C/D and Sentinel-6 B/C);
• Define, develop and prototype new or improved processing algorithms, and contribute to the implementation, testing and validation of operational processors used to extract products from altimetry missions;
• Support the development of the Ground Segment for the upcoming CRISTAL and Sentinel-3 Next Generation Topography mission in all aspects related to data processing, products definition and calibration/validation;
• Contribute to the detailed formulation of requirements for new and improved Copernicus altimetry products and data services, responding to the evolving needs of the Copernicus Services and users;
• Initiate, manage and exploit internal and external studies related to altimetry processing and calibration/validation;
• Actively support operational and scientific interactions with the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service, user communities and international partners (i.e. ESA, CNES, NOAA, NASA);
• Provide product and processing expertise in support of re-processing for climate applications;
• Acquire and maintain an in depth understanding of the observational capabilities of the Copernicus altimeter suite of instruments.

What we offer

• Excellent salary, of up to Euro 8,500 / month NET (after tax) based on skills and experience;
• Flexible working time including additional flexi-leave;
• Private medical coverage for employee and family;
• Attractive final salary pension;
• 30 days of annual leave + 14.5 days public holidays;
• Training and development support;
• Relocation allowance and support (if applicable).

Requirements

Qualifications

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

Skills and Experience:

• In-depth scientific knowledge of altimetry observations of the ocean including sea-ice and coastal areas, measurement physics and retrieval algorithms, preferably in a complex operational environment; knowledge of swath altimetry processing and data products is an asset;
• Experience in calibration and validation activities for altimeters;
• Experience in the definition and development of prototypes or operational processors, including data processing framework;
• Demonstrable experience of working in a UNIX environment and with scientifically-oriented coding languages, preferably Python and/or Matlab. Knowledge of C/C++ is an asset;
• Experience in working with altimetry user communities and researchers. In addition, familiarity with the Copernicus Programme and Copernicus services in particular are an asset;
• Strengths in analysis, synthesis and presentation, including demonstrated experience in writing scientific and technical documents;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to apply these to the interactions within a team and between teams.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN ENGLISH. WE WILL BE UNABLE TO CONSIDER APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED IN OTHER LANGUAGES.

EUMETSAT is an international organisation employing staff from across all 30 member states and this role is being advertised on multiple international job boards, but please note that this role would be based inDarmstadt, Germanyand would require international applicants to relocate if successful.

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