The successful applicant will report to the Head of the Earth Surfaces and Interior Section and be responsible for the following key
responsibilities:

- Maintenance of Earth Observation mission requirements relating to
the relevant Explorer and Global Monitoring for Environment and
Security (GMES) Sentinel missions;
- Support to these projects throughout mission development,
calibration, and validation and commissioning phases to ensure that
the payloads fulfill the relevant mission requirements;
- Provision of science support to new Earth Explorer missions during
their assessment and implementation phases;
- Support to scientific and technical evaluation of proposals and to
selection of future missions for implementation;
- Preparation and technical leadership of external scientific
studies; and
- Supporting geophysical algorithm development and research
involving data from various instrumentation.

Applicants must have a PhD or equivalent qualification in oceanography, geophysics, physics, or other appropriate field, and have broad experience in active and passive microwave and optical Earth Observation remote sensing research.

The candidate shall have accumulated at least five years of experience working in this field, and shall be familiar with the European Space Agency's Earth observation missions and related scientific activities.
Several years of scientific research experience is an asset. Particular importance will be attached to a candidate's personal scientific ability and credibility amongst their peers, and with leading authorities in the field.

Closing Date: Wednesday, 23 December 2009

For Division background, role and responsibilities, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Science_Division

For further information on the position, please go to:
http://www.esa.int/hr/PDF/ESA-VN-ESTEC-2009-197.pdf

Or contact:
Mark Drinkwater
Email: mark.drinkwater@esa.int