Our team and mission

During this two-year research fellowship, you will report to the Head of the Science Section in the Green Solutions Division within the Climate Action, Sustainability and Science Department of the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes. When performing your tasks, you will work in close cooperation with other staff of the Directorate.

The Science Section is a dynamic team leading EO research and Earth system science activities, in partnership with European and international scientific groups. Our main goal is to maximise the scientific impacts of our missions and respond to the major scientific challenges of our times as captured in the new ESA science strategy https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/EarthObservation/ESA_Earth_Observation_Science_Strategy_issued_Sept_ 2024.pdf Visit our website for an overview of our activities: https://eo4society.esa.int/communities/scientists/

You will be part of the Earth System Science Hub ( https://sciencehub.esa.int), an advanced science facility and centre for networking and scientific collaboration at ESA. The Hub brings together young and senior scientists of different disciplines in Earth observation, Earth system and climate science to help develop the next generation of EO products and jointly address some of the major science challenges of this decade.
The Hub will also contribute to the development of a solid scientific basis for the implementation and evolution of Digital Twin Earth, an advanced high-resolution replica of our planet, its processes and its interactions with human activities and ecosystems.

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: https://www.esa.int/

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

You will be responsible for a variety of activities, including the following:

• Advancing EO methods, algorithms and products: undertaking advanced research activities addressing major observational gaps and scientific priorities in EO. The research will cover a wide range of innovative topics and missions with a special focus on the new Earth Explorers and the Sentinel expansion missions.
• Advancing our understanding of the Earth system: capitalising on the latest advances in EO technology to respond to the major science challenges of the new ESA science strategy.
• Contributing to the development of an advanced reconstruction of the Earth system: establishing a solid scientific basis for the implementation and evolution of Digital Twin Earth by undertaking collaborative research across a range of domains and advancing the use of EO for enhanced simulations, predictions and what-if scenarios.
• Supporting the definition, technical supervision and coordination of scientific exploitation projects carried out by external teams of experts and scientists in all areas of EO research and Earth system science.

You will be involved in the scientific activities of the Science Section within at least one of the following thematic priorities (please indicate your preferred theme in your proposal).

• Data-driven and AI-based Earth system simulations and predictability science: developing advanced data-driven methods to exploit the large amount and variety of EO data products to better reconstruct and simulate complex Earth system processes with special focus on extremes and their impacts across the Earth system and climate domains at high resolutions in space and time.
• Hydrology and water cycle research: advancing the use of EO for hydrology and water cycle research from global to basin scales with a special focus on exploring and exploiting the novel capacity offered by existing and upcoming Sentinel missions. Priorities include novel high-resolution products (precipitation, evaporation, soil moisture), high-resolution hydrological modelling, human impacts in the water cycle, ground water storage, global water cycle analysis and hydro-climatic extremes.
• Terrestrial carbon and ecosystems: enhancing our capacity to observe, quantify and understand land processes and terrestrial ecosystems with a special focus on the terrestrial carbon cycle, its sensitivity to climate change and its interactions with human activities and land use (e.g. agriculture, forestry, energy and water consumption). The activities will focus in particular on the synergistic use of novel capabilities (e.g. Copernicus Sentinels, FLEX, BIOMASS, novel national and international missions). You will also contribute to the coordination and implementation of the ESA carbon science cluster: carbonscienceclusters.esa.int.
• Polar science and cryosphere research: with a focus on advancing our EO-based capacity to observe, understand and predict the onset and amplitude of changes in polar regions, the associated processes and the potential impacts: ice-sheet, glacier and ice-cap dynamics, ice shelves-ocean-atmosphere interactions, snow processes and surface mass balance, permafrost, sea-ice and polar ocean studies. You will also contribute to the coordination and implementation of the activities of the ESA polar science cluster: polarsciencecluster.esa.int.
• Ocean science with a focus on the Mediterranean: advanced exploitation of EO data (e.g. Sentinels or Earth Explorer missions) to better understand and monitor the Mediterranean’s rapid warming and the impacts on its physical and biological conditions, supporting the goals of the UN Ocean Decade.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You should have recently completed, or be close to completion of a PhD in a related technical or scientific discipline. Preference will be given to applications submitted by candidates within five years of receiving their PhD. In particular for this position, the following is required: PhD in physics, engineering or Earth system and climate science, with research experience and peer-reviewed publications in relevant topics for the fields of research proposed.

Additional requirements

In addition to your CV and your motivation letter, please prepare a research proposal of no more than 5 pages. This proposal should be uploaded to the "additional documents" field of the "application information" section.

You should have:

• A solid practical knowledge of advanced EO data processing , especially with regard to ESA and/or Copernicus (existing or future) missions.
• The ability to interface with the scientific community, international partners and external scientific actors involved in relevant activities.
• Advanced programming skills (HPC), advanced mathematics methods, data analytics techniques and/or Earth system and climate modelling, as well as advanced AI methods.

You should also have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multi-cultural environment, both independently and as part of a team. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.