Scientist: In-situ observations for atmospheric composition and numerical weather prediction
- Hiring from
- Germany, United Kingdom
- Work type
- Hybrid
- Posted
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Your role
The exploitation of observations sits at the core of ECMWF’s global forecasting and environmental services. They are used to generate initial conditions for accurate forecasts of weather and atmospheric composition, the latter as part of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).
We are seeking a Scientist to enhance our exploitation of in-situ observations. You will contribute to observation quality evaluation, assimilation methodology development, and seek to enhance our systems with Machine Learning techniques. You will play a key role in advancing ECMWF’s operational forecasting systems and contribute to research projects (JOHN and IM4CA) under the Horizon Europe EU framework.
About The Active Sensing Team
This role is in the Active Sensing Team of the Earth System Assimilation Section, part of ECMWF’s Research Department. It has responsibility for the exploitation of in-situ (surface-based, aircraft, balloon) measurements and active satellite systems (RADAR and GNSS). In this particular role, the successful candidate will also work closely with colleagues specializing in atmospheric composition, data assimilation, machine learning and operational evaluation.
Your Responsibilities
You will:
We are looking for someone who brings solid scientific expertise with the assimilation of observations in Earth system prediction systems. You understand data assimilation principles and have the technical expertise needed to contribute to advancing our operational forecasting systems.
You Will Bring
Education
If you feel that you have the motivation and many of the skills for this role but don't meet precisely all of the criteria listed above, we still encourage you to apply.
About The Projects
The IM4CA project
IM4CA (https://im4ca.eu/) is a large Horizon Europe project with 27 partners focused on improving our understanding of regional and global sources and sinks of atmospheric methane in the past, present, and future. ECMWF’s role is to use the knowledge and datasets on methane sources and sinks that become available during the project to improve the representation of methane in the operational CAMS greenhouse gas services.
The JOHN project
The JOHN (https://john-project.eu/) project will support the implementation of WMO’s Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W) by assessing and improving the global greenhouse gas observing system, exploring emerging technologies, and developing priorities for future investment and monitoring. One of ECMWF’s roles is to adapt the CAMS data assimilation system to allow for the assimilation of in situ observations of atmospheric composition species. The exploitation of radiocarbon observations in the IFS - with focus on Europe - will also be assessed.
Copernicus and CAMS
Copernicus is the flagship Earth observation component of the European Union (EU) space programme. Based on the exploitation of space-based and Earth observations and scientific models, Copernicus provides validated information services for land, marine, atmosphere and climate monitoring, as well as emergency management and security. These services, and their free, open and quality-assured data and tools, support a range of environmental and security applications across sectors and policy domains. ECMWF has been entrusted to operate two of these Services - the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) - on behalf of the European Commission, as well as being a contributor to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) service provides consistent and quality-controlled information related to atmospheric composition, including air pollutants and greenhouse gases, solar energy, and climate forcing, everywhere in the world. For more information, see: https://www.copernicus.eu/en/copernicus-services/atmosphere
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 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
Our mission: Deliver global numerical weather predictions focusing on the medium-range and monitoring of the Earth system to and with our Member States
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.
ECMWF is a multi-site organisation, with its headquarters in Reading, UK, a data centre in Bologna, Italy, and a large presence in Bonn, Germany as a central location for our EU-related activities. ECMWF is internationally recognised as the voice of expertise in numerical weather predictions for forecasts and climate science.
www.ecmwf.int
About Copernicus Copernicus.eu
About Destination Earth destine.ecmwf.int
Other Information
Grade remuneration: The successful candidates will be recruited according to the scales of the Co-ordinated Organisations. In addition to basic salary, ECMWF also offers an attractive benefits package. Information about working with us and full details of salary scales and allowances are available on the ECMWF website at: www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs/working-ecmwf.
Starting date: As soon as possible
Location: Reading, UK or Bonn, Germany (Candidates are expected to relocate to the duty station)
Hybrid working: As a multi-site organisation, ECMWF has adopted a hybrid organisation model which allows flexibility to staff to mix office working and teleworking. We allow for remote work 10 days/month away from the office, including up to 80 days/year away from the duty station country (within member states and co-operating states).
Interviews by videoconference (MS Teams) interviews will be conducted in English and are expected to take place approximately a month after the closing date.
Successful applicants and members of their family forming part of their households will be exempt from immigration restrictions.
If you require any special accommodations in order to participate fully in our recruitment process, please let us know. To contact the ECMWF Recruitment Team, please email jobs@ecmwf.int.
Who Can Apply
Applicants are invited to complete the online application form by clicking on the apply button below.
At ECMWF, we consider an inclusive environment as key for our success. We are dedicated to ensuring a workplace that embraces diversity and provides equal opportunities for all, without distinction as to race, gender, age, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality, ethnicity and culture. We value the benefits derived from a diverse workforce and are committed to having staff that reflect the diversity of the countries that are part of our community, in an environment that nurtures equality and inclusion.
Applications Are Invited From Nationals From ECMWF Member States And Cooperating States, Listed Below, As Well As From All EU Member States
ECMWF Member and Co-operating States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
In these exceptional times, we also welcome applications from Ukrainian nationals for this vacancy.
Applications from nationals from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases.
The exploitation of observations sits at the core of ECMWF’s global forecasting and environmental services. They are used to generate initial conditions for accurate forecasts of weather and atmospheric composition, the latter as part of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).
We are seeking a Scientist to enhance our exploitation of in-situ observations. You will contribute to observation quality evaluation, assimilation methodology development, and seek to enhance our systems with Machine Learning techniques. You will play a key role in advancing ECMWF’s operational forecasting systems and contribute to research projects (JOHN and IM4CA) under the Horizon Europe EU framework.
About The Active Sensing Team
This role is in the Active Sensing Team of the Earth System Assimilation Section, part of ECMWF’s Research Department. It has responsibility for the exploitation of in-situ (surface-based, aircraft, balloon) measurements and active satellite systems (RADAR and GNSS). In this particular role, the successful candidate will also work closely with colleagues specializing in atmospheric composition, data assimilation, machine learning and operational evaluation.
Your Responsibilities
You will:
- Work closely with the Observations team in the Forecast & Services Department to establish the real-time observation ingest and data flow for new observation streams, both for meteorological parameters and atmospheric composition, particularly for greenhouse gases in the framework of the JOHN and IM4CA projects
- Adapt the existing ECMWF systems to make additional use of these new observations in a research context and evaluate the impact on analyses and forecasts
- Where appropriate, migrate observations from research use to deployment in ECMWF’s operational systems used to produce weather and atmospheric composition predictions
We are looking for someone who brings solid scientific expertise with the assimilation of observations in Earth system prediction systems. You understand data assimilation principles and have the technical expertise needed to contribute to advancing our operational forecasting systems.
You Will Bring
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to connect theoretical understanding with practical data assimilation development
- A rigorous and proactive approach to improving methods and code
- An ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with colleagues across different areas, supported by clear communication skills
- Strong organizational skills, including the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work when timelines are constrained
- An ability to efficiently document your work
Education
- An advanced university degree, or equivalent professional experience, in a relevant field
- Demonstrated experience with atmospheric data assimilation methodologies, such as variational methods, Kalman Filters, or data driven machine learning approaches
- A broad understanding of satellite and in-situ observations of the atmosphere
- Experience working with and maintaining large collaborative scientific codes, as well as agentic coding tools
- Experience with NWP and / or atmospheric composition data assimilation
- Experience coding and conducting experiments in high-performance computing environments
- Knowledge of tools and processes for software management and software quality
If you feel that you have the motivation and many of the skills for this role but don't meet precisely all of the criteria listed above, we still encourage you to apply.
About The Projects
The IM4CA project
IM4CA (https://im4ca.eu/) is a large Horizon Europe project with 27 partners focused on improving our understanding of regional and global sources and sinks of atmospheric methane in the past, present, and future. ECMWF’s role is to use the knowledge and datasets on methane sources and sinks that become available during the project to improve the representation of methane in the operational CAMS greenhouse gas services.
The JOHN project
The JOHN (https://john-project.eu/) project will support the implementation of WMO’s Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W) by assessing and improving the global greenhouse gas observing system, exploring emerging technologies, and developing priorities for future investment and monitoring. One of ECMWF’s roles is to adapt the CAMS data assimilation system to allow for the assimilation of in situ observations of atmospheric composition species. The exploitation of radiocarbon observations in the IFS - with focus on Europe - will also be assessed.
Copernicus and CAMS
Copernicus is the flagship Earth observation component of the European Union (EU) space programme. Based on the exploitation of space-based and Earth observations and scientific models, Copernicus provides validated information services for land, marine, atmosphere and climate monitoring, as well as emergency management and security. These services, and their free, open and quality-assured data and tools, support a range of environmental and security applications across sectors and policy domains. ECMWF has been entrusted to operate two of these Services - the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) - on behalf of the European Commission, as well as being a contributor to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) service provides consistent and quality-controlled information related to atmospheric composition, including air pollutants and greenhouse gases, solar energy, and climate forcing, everywhere in the world. For more information, see: https://www.copernicus.eu/en/copernicus-services/atmosphere
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 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
Our mission: Deliver global numerical weather predictions focusing on the medium-range and monitoring of the Earth system to and with our Member States
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.
ECMWF is a multi-site organisation, with its headquarters in Reading, UK, a data centre in Bologna, Italy, and a large presence in Bonn, Germany as a central location for our EU-related activities. ECMWF is internationally recognised as the voice of expertise in numerical weather predictions for forecasts and climate science.
www.ecmwf.int
About Copernicus Copernicus.eu
About Destination Earth destine.ecmwf.int
Other Information
Grade remuneration: The successful candidates will be recruited according to the scales of the Co-ordinated Organisations. In addition to basic salary, ECMWF also offers an attractive benefits package. Information about working with us and full details of salary scales and allowances are available on the ECMWF website at: www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs/working-ecmwf.
Starting date: As soon as possible
Location: Reading, UK or Bonn, Germany (Candidates are expected to relocate to the duty station)
Hybrid working: As a multi-site organisation, ECMWF has adopted a hybrid organisation model which allows flexibility to staff to mix office working and teleworking. We allow for remote work 10 days/month away from the office, including up to 80 days/year away from the duty station country (within member states and co-operating states).
Interviews by videoconference (MS Teams) interviews will be conducted in English and are expected to take place approximately a month after the closing date.
Successful applicants and members of their family forming part of their households will be exempt from immigration restrictions.
If you require any special accommodations in order to participate fully in our recruitment process, please let us know. To contact the ECMWF Recruitment Team, please email jobs@ecmwf.int.
Who Can Apply
Applicants are invited to complete the online application form by clicking on the apply button below.
At ECMWF, we consider an inclusive environment as key for our success. We are dedicated to ensuring a workplace that embraces diversity and provides equal opportunities for all, without distinction as to race, gender, age, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality, ethnicity and culture. We value the benefits derived from a diverse workforce and are committed to having staff that reflect the diversity of the countries that are part of our community, in an environment that nurtures equality and inclusion.
Applications Are Invited From Nationals From ECMWF Member States And Cooperating States, Listed Below, As Well As From All EU Member States
ECMWF Member and Co-operating States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
In these exceptional times, we also welcome applications from Ukrainian nationals for this vacancy.
Applications from nationals from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases.
