Job Summary:

As Research Software Engineer – IoT and Observation Handling (A2) you will be responsible for building a novel data infrastructure to handle unconventional observational data from private and public sensors, crowd sourced data and Internet of Things (IoT). You will develop the technology and systems to perform quality control, encode observations in standardised forms, and store and index the observations before making them available to external partners through a web service. The data will need to follow standards including OGC, FAIR data and European Data Governance. The technology should as far as possible be made generic and scalable and connect to the existing software tools in ECMWF’s production chain.

You will work in the Data Management Services team in the Development Section. We are responsible for all software and systems handling meteorological data from when they arrive at ECMWF to when they leave. This includes high-throughput specialist software that supports the operational forecast model, systems for acquisition of incoming observations, management of direct model output, and the perpetual archival of forecasts and observations. We particularly focus on the use of semantically meaningful metadata to route and control data flows, and on novel systems and methods to address the disruptive changes coming.

The work will be carried out in the AD4GD, TRIGGER and DaFab projects. AD4GD aims to co-create and shape the European Green Deal Data Space as an open hub for FAIR data, and TRIGGER looks at impacts on human health from weather and climate hazards incorporating novel geophysical and health-related observations. DaFab aims to use AI and federated computing techniques to analyse Earth Observation datasets to support real-time applications. Additionally, there is overlap with iCHANGE (individual Change of Habits Needed for Green European transition, H2020), aiming to raise awareness of climate issues by making it easier to observe the environmental impacts of human activities.

Your responsibilities:

• Develop software and systems to handle unconventional observations incl. for example IoT, including quality control, storage, indexing and archival
• Develop, deploy and maintain a system to serve observational data to external project partners for the duration of the project
• Contribute to a pilot system for further integration of unconventional observations into ECMWF’s operational systems and the AD4GD and TRIGGER projects
• Contribute to the AD4GD and TRIGGER project deliverables and Work Package tasks where ECMWF are involved
• Represent ECMWF at external and international meetings and scientific conferences to present the outcome of the project

What we’re looking for:

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a proactive and constructive approach
• Flexibility, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities and user needs
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are vital, to communicate with a wide range of technically skilled colleagues, including remote teams, and to non-technical staff
• Dedication and enthusiasm to work in a team and across teams
• Highly organised with the capacity to work on a diverse range of tasks to tight deadlines

Education:

• An advanced university degree (EQ7 level or above) or equivalent experience in computer science or engineering, computational science, physics or natural sciences, mathematics, or a related discipline

Experience:

• Demonstrated experience developing large scale, object-oriented software
• Knowledge of web services and standards such as OGC or GEOSS is advantageous

Knowledge and skills

• Experience in Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
• Experience developing with Python and software lifecycle maintenance is required

Candidates must be able to work effectively in English . A good knowledge of one of the Centre’s other working languages (French or German) is an advantage.

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t feel you meet precisely all these criteria.