Research engineer on the exploitation of remote sensing data for atmospheric composition modelling and assimilation (RE2)

Job Reference

145_24_ES_AC_RE2

Position

Research engineer on the exploitation of remote sensing data for atmospheric composition modelling and assimilation (RE2)

Closing Date

Tuesday, 16 July, 2024
Reference: 145_24_ES_AC_RE2
Job title: Research engineer on the exploitation of remote sensing data for atmospheric composition modelling and assimilation (RE2)

About BSC

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) is the leading supercomputing center in Spain. It houses MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe, was a founding and hosting member of the former European HPC infrastructure PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe), and is now hosting entity for EuroHPC JU, the Joint Undertaking that leads large-scale investments and HPC provision in Europe. The mission of BSC is to research, develop and manage information technologies in order to facilitate scientific progress. BSC combines HPC service provision and R&D into both computer and computational science (life, earth and engineering sciences) under one roof, and currently has over 1000 staff from 60 countries.

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We are particularly interested for this role in the strengths and lived experiences of women and underrepresented groups to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights in science and IT research. In instances of equal merit, the incorporation of the under-represented sex will be favoured.

Context And Mission

We are looking for an enthusiast research engineer to join the Atmospheric Composition (AC) group within the Earth Sciences department at the BSC-CNS. The AC group is currently composed of about 30 people among researchers, engineers and students of different nationalities. It aims at better understanding and predicting the spatiotemporal variations of atmospheric pollutants along with their effects upon air quality, weather and climate. This is addressed through the continuous development and application of numerical models over multiple scales, from weather to climate and from global to urban scales.

The AC group develops and maintains its own forecast model MONARCH, which is a coupled meteorological-chemistry model that can be run at global and regional scales to simulate gaseous chemistry and aerosols plus their feedbacks on radiation. MONARCH is also coupled to a data assimilation scheme for gases and aerosols. The AC group also contributes to the development of the Earth System model EC-Earth for atmospheric composition climate research.

In this framework, ground and satellite observations of the atmospheric composition are fundamental to evaluate model developments, to produce forecasts with data assimilation, and to inform on the quality of the bottom-up emissions. In addition, they will be used for near real time plume detection algorithms and diverse applications of AI.

The AC group developed internal analysis tools (PROVIDENTIA) and long-term databases (GHOST) that cover a large spectrum of ground observations related to air quality. The successful candidate will work along with PROVIDENTIA, GHOST, atmospheric modelling and data management experts to integrate satellite retrievals in these tools, covering multiple aspects from the data collection and management to the end use.

The effective utilization of satellite observations and their integration into user-end applications is crucial for achieving the objectives of the larger initiative on the “Modernization of observation networks and digitalization of production processes for the development of intelligent meteorological services in the context of climate change” in the framework of the European Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan funded by the European Union - Next Generation EU. Female candidates are especially encouraged to apply.

Key Duties

  • Implement satellite and vertical sounding instruments processing in the PROVIDENTIA and GHOST frameworks
  • Collect columnar and vertically resolved observations from current generation of satellite and ground-based remote sensing products (e.g., VIIRS, IASI, TROPOMI, EARLINET) for aerosols and some key trace gases
  • Implement quality assurance procedures for remote sensing observations in-line with GHOST standards
  • Develop statistics and score-boards for model evaluation and experiments comparison
  • Train and assist modellers and satellite data users within the team
  • Contribute to code documentation, scientific publications, and technical reports
  • Contribute to the data management of remote sensing products in the AC group

Requirements

  • Education
    • A master degree on computer sciences, physics, mathematics or related disciplines
  • Essential Knowledge and Professional Experience
    • Understanding of the fundamentals of satellite retrievals and atmospheric remote sensing.
    • Proficiency in Python.
    • Experience working in Unix/Linux environments.
    • Experience in collaborative code development and the use of version control systems.
  • Additional Knowledge and Professional Experience
    • Experience in processing L2 satellite products (aerosols and/or trace gases).
    • Experience with observations quality control and statistical analysis.
    • Experience with atmospheric composition models.
    • Experience with parallel programming and HPC environments.
  • Competences
    • Very good interpersonal skills.
    • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
    • Ability to take initiative, prioritize and work under set deadlines.
    • Ability to work both independently and within a team.

Conditions

  • The position will be located at BSC within the Earth Sciences Department
  • We offer a full-time contract (37.5h/week), a good working environment, a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructure, flexible working hours, extensive training plan, restaurant tickets, private health insurance, support to the relocation procedures
  • Duration: Open-ended contract due to technical and scientific activities linked to the project and budget duration
  • Holidays: 23 paid vacation days plus 24th and 31st of December per our collective agreement
  • Salary: we offer a competitive salary commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate and according to the cost of living in Barcelona
  • Starting date: asap

Applications procedure and process

All applications must be made through BSC website and contain:

  • A full CV in English including contact details
  • A Cover Letter with a statement of interest in English, including two contacts for further references - Applications without this document will not be considered

    In accordance with the OTM-R principles, a gender-balanced recruitment panel is formed for every vacancy at the beginning of the process. After reviewing the content of the applications, the panel will start the interviews, with at least one technical and one administrative interview. A profile questionnaire as well as a technical exercise may be required during the process.

    The panel will make a final decision and all candidates who had contacts with them will receive a feedback with details on the acceptance or rejection of their profile.

    At BSC we are seeking continuous improvement in our recruitment processes, for any suggestions or feedback/complaints about our Recruitment Processes, please contact recruitment [at] bsc [dot] es.

    For more information follow this link

  • Deadline

    The vacancy will remain open until a suitable candidate has been hired. Applications will be regularly reviewed and potential candidates will be contacted.

    OTM-R principles for selection processes

    BSC-CNS is committed to the principles of the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers of the European Commission and the Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment principles (OTM-R). This is applied for any potential candidate in all our processes, for example by creating gender-balanced recruitment panels and recognizing career breaks etc.
    BSC-CNS is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or any other basis protected by applicable state or local law.
    For more information follow this link

    Application Form

    please choose one of this and if needed describe the option : - BSC Website - Euraxess - Spotify - HiPeac - LinkedIn - Networking/Referral: include who and how - Events (Forum, career fairs): include who and how - Through University: include the university name - Specialized website (Metjobs, BIB, other): include which one - Other social Networks: (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube): include which one - Other (Glassdoor, ResearchGate, job search website and other cases): include which one
    Please, upload your CV document using the following name structure: Name_Surname_CV
    Files must be less than 3 MB.
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    Please, upload your CV document using the following name structure: Name_Surname_CoverLetter
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    Please, upload your CV document using the following name structure: Name_Surname_OtherDocument
    Files must be less than 10 MB.
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    ** Consider that the information provided in relation to gender and nationality will be used solely for statistical purposes.