Operations Technician

Your role

ECMWF are looking to recruit an Operations Technician to join the Operations Team at our Data Centre in Bologna. Reporting to the Operations Team Leader, you will be part of a team of eleven Operators who work in pairs on a 12-hour shift system, ensuring continuous 24-hour operations, 365 days a year.
The Operations Technicians are responsible for the real-time supervision of all critical systems, infrastructures, and services of the organisation, and you will collaborate closely with technical teams, service owners and stakeholders to ensure smooth operations and rapid recovery when issues arise.

The Data Centre Operations Team

The Data Centre Operations team is responsible for 24/7 monitoring of the performance of ECMWF’s mission-critical systems and services, including forecast services, computing systems, and the data centre infrastructure (power, cooling, etc.), ensuring that all monitored systems (both hardware and software) are effective in supporting the running of ECMWF's operations.

Your responsibilities

• Monitoring of ECMWF's infrastructure and operational critical systems and services
• Responding to hardware, software and application alerts following the relevant procedures
• Performing first-level problem diagnosis, incident logging and take corrective actions
• Appropriate escalation to support teams depending on the nature of the incident
• Ensuring clear and consistent communication with all parties from problem alert through to analysis and resolution
• Dealing with and investigating fire alarms as this role will act as fire warden/marshal
• Dealing with tape labelling and insertion/removal of tapes from the libraries
• Investigating problems with tape libraries and escalating if necessary
• Improving procedures, monitoring systems and operational efficiency by identifying tasks suitable for automation, and assisting with their automation
• Acting as first line of response at the data centre outside of normal working hours, for all matters, including issues not related to the computing service, and deciding on escalation to the management when appropriate
• Support analysts and technical teams with on-site activities in restoring service

About ECMWF

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is a world leader in Numerical Weather Predictions providing high-quality data for weather forecasts and environmental monitoring. As an intergovernmental organisation we collaborate internationally to serve our members and the wider community with global weather predictions, data and training activities that are critical to contribute to safe and thriving societies.

The success of our activities depends on the funding and partnerships of our 35 Member and Co-operating States who provide the support and direction of our work. Our talented staff together with the international scientific community, and our powerful supercomputing capabilities, are the core of a 24/7 research and operational centre with a focus on medium and long-range predictions. We also hold one of the largest meteorological data archives in the world.

Our mission: Deliver global numerical weather predictions focusing on the medium-range and monitoring of the Earth system to and with our Member States

Our vision: World-leading monitoring and predictions of the Earth System enabled by cutting-edge physical, computational and data science, resulting from a close collaboration between ECMWF and the members of the European Meteorological Infrastructure, will contribute to a safe and thriving society

In addition, ECMWF has established a strong partnership with the European Union and has been entrusted with the implementation and operation of the Destination Earth initiative and the Climate Change and Atmosphere Monitoring Services of the Copernicus Programme, as well as being a contributor to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service. Other areas of work include High Performance Computing and the development of digital tools that enable ECMWF to extend provision of data and products covering weather, climate, air quality, fire and flood prediction and monitoring. 

ECMWF is a multi-site organisation, with its headquarters in Reading, UK, a data centre in Bologna, Italy, and a large presence in Bonn, Germany as a central location for our EU-related activities. ECMWF is internationally recognised as the voice of expertise in numerical weather predictions for forecasts and climate science.

www.ecmwf.int
About Copernicus www.copernicus.eu
About Destination Earth destine.ecmwf.int

What we are looking for

• Very good interpersonal skills, together with very good oral and written communication skills
• A service‑oriented mindset and a proactive, responsible approach.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse and report issues effectively
• Calmness, resilience, and sound judgement when working in a 24/7 shift environment, particularly during incidents.
• Ability to communicate in a clear, structured manner under pressure.
• Dedication and enthusiasm to work effectively as part of a small team
• Flexibility to adapt to changing priorities and user needs
• Commitment to personal and team development
• Ability to prioritise and work effectively under pressure
• Proactive and responsible approach, being the first point of contact on-site at ECMWF Data Centre outside office hours

Your profile

• Higher standard of education (EQF Level 4)
• Proven experience in a large-scale, mission-critical computing or data centre environment, including real-time monitoring, first-line incident response, incident logging, classification, and structured escalation procedures
• Experience working in a 24/7 shift-based operational model (e.g. 12-hour rotating shifts). Practical exposure to system, network and infrastructure monitoring tools, alerting platforms, and event management systems is considered advantageous.
• An understanding and demonstrated experience of resource management, e.g. batch job scheduling, within a complex distributed environment would be an advantage
• Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and interviews will be conducted in English
• A good knowledge of Italian would be an advantage
• A good knowledge of one of the Centre’s other working languages (French or German) would be an advantage

If you feel that you have the relevant profile and motivation to join us but don't meet precisely all of the skills above, we still encourage you to apply.

Other information

Grade remuneration

The successful candidates will be recruited at the B5 Grade, according to the scales of the Co-ordinated Organisations and the annual basic salary will be EUR 56,380 net of tax. A monthly shift allowance based on the respective basic salary will also be paid (Article 32 refers in the ECMWF Staff Regulations).

The position is assigned to one of the employment categories STF-C or STF-PL as defined in the ECMWF Staff Regulations.

Full details of salary scales and allowances available on the ECMWF website at www.ecmwf.int/en/about/jobs, including the ECMWF Staff Regulations and the terms and conditions of employment.

Starting date: as soon as possible thereafter.

Length of contract:
For STF-C contract: Four years, with the possibility of a further contract.
For STF-PL contract: Approx. 2 years to 30 Sept 2028, with the possibility of extension (subject to funding)

Location: The position will be located at ECMWF's duty station in Bologna, Italy.

Successful applicants and members of their family forming part of their households will be exempt from immigration restrictions.

Interviews by videoconference (Via Teams) are expected to take place within a month of the vacancy closing date.

Who can apply

Applicants are invited to complete the online application form by clicking on the apply button below.

At ECMWF, we consider an inclusive environment as key for our success. We are dedicated to ensuring a workplace that embraces diversity and provides equal opportunities for all, without distinction as to race, gender, age, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality, ethnicity and culture. We value the benefits derived from a diverse workforce and are committed to having staff that reflect the diversity of the countries that are part of our community, in an environment that nurtures equality and inclusion.

Applications are invited from nationals from ECMWF Member States and Co-operating States. In these exceptional times, we also welcome applications from Ukrainian nationals for this vacancy. Applications from nationals from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases.

ECMWF Member States and Co-operating States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.