News

Vacancy Notice in the Data User Element, Ref. ESA/VN-ESRIN(2009)011 20 August 2009

The European Space Agency has issued a Vacancy Notice for an Engineer, in the Exploitation and Services Division of the Science, Applications and Future Technologies Department, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes.

The appointee will be responsible for increasing user awareness of the potential of Earth Observation applications by implementing demonstration projects in close cooperation with end-user communities. The long-term objective is to achieve widespread user acceptance and sustainability of innovative EO-based products and services.

Establishing a lasting dialogue with end-user organisations, capturing their requirements for information that can be provided by EO, obtaining their commitment to participate in demonstration projects;

Preparing technical specifications and statements of work for projects to be tendered to industry, and monitoring the implementation of the resulting projects;

Liaising with users during and after project execution to obtain their feedback, validating the project results, promoting the services to other users, and transferring them into a sustainable operational framework;

Providing user-driven inputs for the exploitation of existing EO missions and the definition of future mission requirements;

Communicating achievements via ESA’s corporate communication and education channels.

These activities fall within the scope of EO Envelope Programme, Data User Element, which supports research laboratories, users and industry to bridge the gap between pilot demonstrations and sustainable EO-based information services.

The successful candidate will report to the Head of the Projects Section in the Exploitation and Services Division. The postholder will support relevant activities of other groups within the Science, Applications and Future Technologies Department as needed.

Applicants should hold a PhD or similar qualification in physics, engineering, informatics or relevant disciplines, and preferably have some working experience post-degree. They should be familiar with research and international cooperation on the use of Earth Observation in several thematic application domains. Evidence of personal credibility interfacing with user communities will be considered an advantage. Applicants should have experience of developing EO applications for one or more of the following domains:

• Oceanographic applications (SST, Ocean Colour, fisheries )
• Terrestrial applications (e.g. agriculture, forestry, land cover)

Expertise of the user of EO data for applications related to the Global Water Cycle will be an asset.

The closing date for applications is 1 October 2009.

Applications from external candidates for this post should preferably be made on-line at the ESA Web Site http://www.esa.int/careers. Those unable to apply on-line should submit their CV to the Head of ESRIN Human Resources Service, ESA-ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei, 00044 Frascati, Italy