Description

Marine and Coastal Applications Scientist in the Applications Section, Green Solutions Division, Climate Action, Sustainability and Science Department, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes.

The Department aims to combine Europe’s excellence in Earth observation (EO) systems, applications and science, in synergy with other scientific disciplines and emerging big data technologies, to maximise impact and benefits for society.

Reporting to the Head of the Applications Section, you will be responsible for defining and managing EO research and development projects related to marine and coastal applications.

In accordance with the ESA EO Earth Action vision and the EO Science Strategy 2024, the Applications Section pioneers innovative EO applications for societal benefit, addressing international and European policies and initiatives concerning climate, environment and sustainable development, through the involvement of stakeholders and end-users in the co-design, co-development and validation phases.

Duties

As Applications Scientist, you will address specific marine and coastal-related matters, such as marine and coastal ecosystems protection and pollution monitoring, marine and coastal biodiversity, the blue economy (including fisheries and aquaculture, marine renewable energy, tourism and transport), coastal blue carbon, nature-based solutions and climate adaptation. 

Your tasks will cover a wide range of research and development projects addressing international and European policies and initiatives concerning climate, environment and sustainable development: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); the High Seas Treaty, also known as the agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ); several Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (in particular, SDG 14 Life Below Water, whose aim is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources, as well as SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action)); the Global Biodiversity Framework; the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development; the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration; the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive; the EU Maritime Spatial Planning Directive; the EU Adaptation Strategy; and the EU Biodiversity Strategy.

.

Your main tasks and responsibilities will include:

• organising thematic consultation meetings, workshops and conferences to review state-of-the-art EO marine and coastal-related applications, to collect new user needs and recommendations;
• engaging with new user communities involved in the various domains, in close coordination with colleagues from the Green Solutions Division;
• facilitating the co-design and co-development processes of new applications with stakeholders and end-users;
• pioneering EO products, analytics and precursor services in relation to the wide range of marine and coastal applications, and enabling international and European policies on the environment and sustainable development;
• developing innovative EO applications with a multi-mission synergy approach, fully leveraging on cloud computing environments, the integration of non-EO data sources and cutting-edge digital technologies, as well as pursuing open-source algorithms and tools; 
• facilitating the uptake of the developed applications by the heterogeneous end-user communities (including policy implementers, industry sectors, civil society organisations, environment agencies and financial entities) with their active involvement during the co-design, development and validation phases;
• establishing and strengthening partnerships with key policy stakeholders (e.g. at EU and UN level) and with authoritative user organisations (such as national ministries, statistical offices, local authorities, relevant marine and coastal sectors implementing the policies, environment agencies, and financial entities); 
• demonstrating the upscaling of applications towards global solutions;
• supporting the collection of evolving user needs for future EO mission applications;
• fostering communication and scientific publications on project achievements;
• supporting the preparation and definition of relevant future new ESA programme elements.

You will also: 

• support other activities from the Green Solutions Division and other relevant ESA EOP programmes;
• contribute to ESA communication efforts promoting the results of EO marine and coastal-related applications, mission achievements and EO benefits for society;
• supervise and support the work of ESA Graduate Trainees and Research Fellows, organising their activities and providing a motivating work environment.

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 and professional experience

A master's degree in remote sensing, geophysics or relevant subjects related to marine and coastal applications and at least 4 years of relevant professional experience is required for this post.  A PhD is considered an asset.

Additional requirements

Professional experience in relevant remote-sensing applications development and project management experience, obtained following completion of your PhD degree, would be considered an additional asset.