JOB DESCRIPTION

VN 25/69 Passive Microwave and Radio Occultation Competence Area Manager

In the EUMETSAT matrix organisation, the Remote Sensing and Products (RSP) division of the Technical and Scientific Support (TSS) department provides science support to the development and operations of end-to-end satellite systems, focusing on the development, implementation and validation of new and improved operational observational products and processing chains, and supports the definition of user requirements for future satellite systems.

Within the RSP division, the Passive Microwave and Radio Occultation Competence Area Manager provides scientific leadership and coordinate the science support to the development, commissioning and operations of the Microwave and Radio Occultation missions at EUMETSAT.

Interview of this post will be conducted during the first quarter of 2026.

Duties

Manage the teams and resources of the Passive Microwave and Radio Occultation Competence Area, including developing the scientific knowledge required to support the exploitation and evolution of instrument chains;

Lead the functional analysis, the definition, the prototyping and the scientific evaluation of algorithms used in the level-1 and level-2 processing chains for current and future EUMETSAT satellite systems, as well as for commercial data streams;

Assess requirements and priorities for calibration and validation of passive microwave (sounders and imagers) and radio occultation products and support the definition and execution of calibration and validation plans;

Interact with the communities of level-1 and level-2 products users, collecting and analysing their feedback on the relevance and quality of the products and their requirements for new / improved products;

Lead the definition of new or improved products in response to user requirements, including assessment of their value to user communities;

Initiate and manage internal and external studies contributing to the above;

Support as required the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facilities involved in the extraction of products from passive microwave and radio occultation instrument chains.

LOCATION

Darmstadt, Germany

QUALIFICATIONS

Advanced university degree in a relevant disciple, i.e. physics, meteorology, engineering, or equivalent

LANGUAGES

The official languages of EUMETSAT are English and French. Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and have some knowledge of French

DEADLINE

19 January 2026

Duties

Manage the teams and resources of the Passive Microwave and Radio Occultation Competence Area, including developing the scientific knowledge required to support the exploitation and evolution of instrument chains;

Lead the functional analysis, the definition, the prototyping and the scientific evaluation of algorithms used in the level-1 and level-2 processing chains for current and future EUMETSAT satellite systems, as well as for commercial data streams;

Assess requirements and priorities for calibration and validation of passive microwave (sounders and imagers) and radio occultation products and support the definition and execution of calibration and validation plans;

Interact with the communities of level-1 and level-2 products users, collecting and analysing their feedback on the relevance and quality of the products and their requirements for new / improved products;

Lead the definition of new or improved products in response to user requirements, including assessment of their value to user communities;

Initiate and manage internal and external studies contributing to the above;

Support as required the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facilities involved in the extraction of products from passive microwave and radio occultation instrument chains.

Skills and Experience

Extensive experience and knowledge in passive microwave remote sensing and processing of data from space-borne instrument chains. Experience with operational processing of Radio Occultation data is an asset;

Demonstrated ability to lead and coordinate scientific teams, including management of performance and maintenance of key skills and knowledge;

Demonstrated experience in planning, implementing and leading Remote Sensing projects;

Demonstrated leadership of development and coding of operational remote-sensing software;

Demonstrated experience in level-2 product developments derived from satellite passive microwave instrument data would be an advantage;

Experience in passive microwave mission concept and design is an asset;

Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills including demonstrated experience in writing scientific and technical documents.

Employment Conditions

The initial contract will be of 4 years’ duration, with subsequent 5 year contracts being awarded thereafter, subject to individual performance and organisation requirements. There is no limit to the amount of follow-up contracts a staff member can receive up to the EUMETSAT retirement age of 63 and there are certainly opportunities to establish a long career perspective at EUMETSAT.
This post is graded A3/A4 on the EUMETSAT salary scales. The minimum basic salary for this post is EURO 9058 per month (net of internal tax but excluding pension contribution and insurances) which may be negotiable on the basis of skills and experience. The salary scale provides for increments on the anniversary of taking up employment, and scales are reviewed by the EUMETSAT Council with effect from 1 January each year. In addition to basic salary, EUMETSAT offers attractive benefits. Further information, including salary details, is available on the EUMETSAT web site.

EUMETSAT is committed to providing an equal opportunities work environment for men and women.
Please note that only nationals of EUMETSAT Member States may apply. The EUMETSAT Convention requires that Staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, account being taken of the international character of EUMETSAT.

About EUMETSAT

EUMETSAT is Europe’s meteorological satellite agency. Its role is to establish and operate meteorological satellites to monitor the weather and climate from space – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This information is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation”s Member States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide.

EUMETSAT also operates several Copernicus missions on behalf of the European Union and provide data services to the Copernicus marine and atmospheric services and their users.

As an intergovernmental European Organisation, EUMETSAT has 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.)

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements