Scientific Engineer (Belgium)

Who we are

IASB-BIRA is one of the three federal scientific institutions of the Space Pole at Uccle. The mission of IASB-BIRA is to build scientific and technological expertise and to spread information in the field of space aeronomy. This interdisciplinary science focuses on planetary atmospheric physics and chemistry. It deals with problems like the ozone hole, global warming, air quality, the effects of volcanism on the atmosphere, the magnetic storms that perturb the electricity network and telecommunications, the radiation belts that could harm astronauts and damage the electronics on board of spacecrafts, Martian atmosphere etc.

Project description

In the framework of the GMES program (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) established by the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA) has commissioned numerous observation and warning services related to the environment and to atmospheric security. The developed services integrate satellite observations, network of ground based measurements, airborne experience and numerical simulations by atmospheric models. This project, called PROMOTE (PROtocol MOniToring for the GMES Service Element: Atmosphere) brings together the efforts of some 35 scientific institutions and private companies from Europe. IASB-BIRA is an important actor of PROMOTE. It coordinates the development of the protocols needed to finalise and make use of the services provided by the project. IASB-BIRA also develops and produces several monitoring and warning services principally related to the atmospheric ozone, air quality and global warning. Among these services, the BASCOE assimilation system is used to analyse the evolution of the stratospheric ozone and green house gases. This is done by optimizing the state of a chemical transport model (included in the BASCOE system) in order to reproduce a set of satellite observations.

Your function

Within the "BASCOE" team, you contribute to the production, the distribution, the evaluation and the improvement of the results of the assimilation system. Your function includes the following tasks:

• Use and evaluate the BASCOE system
• Contribute to the management of the super computer and the BASCOE database
• Develop/manage an internet web site to publish the results online
• Contribute to the system development regarding the modelling of chemical and physical processes, the improvement of the assimilation parameters and the optimization with respect to the computing time
• Communicate the results through reports, scientific publications, oral and/or poster presentations

Essential qualifications:

• University diploma (MSc, PhD or Engineer) in physics, mathematics or chemistry
• Good knowledge of scientific English (oral and written) and good communication skills
• Good knowledge of, at least, one of these fields: statistics and data analysis, atmospheric physics and chemistry, data assimilation, numerical modelling
• Good knowledge of UNIX/LINUX operating systems
• Good programming skills in FORTRAN (or C) and Matlab
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary field and an international environment
• Prepared to travel for short missions

• Experience in the development and management of internet web sites
• Average knowledge in atmospheric physics and chemistry, and of the stratospheric ozone
• Experience in remote sensing
• Experience with file format HDF and GRIB
• Experience with code parallelisation methods like OpenMP or MPI
• Programming in Shell, Cshell or Kshell
• Programming in IDL
• Experience in writing technical reports and scientific publications

• Short term contract that could become long term after a positive evaluation
• Salary according to federal scientific employee standards
• Possibility to follow training
• Good working atmosphere in an internationally renowned institute located in the luxuriant Observatory of Uccle
• Complete (SNCB) or partial (STIB, De Lijn, TEC) refund of transport costs
• Allowance for cycling to work
• Attractive system of annual holidays and several solutions allowing to meet professional and private obligations
• Flexible schedule and possibility to work from home
• Access to special advantages reserved for the members of the federal scientific institutions: collective hospital insurance, sport fee reductions, free access to the permanent collections of the federal museums

Send your application (cover letter + Resume + list of publications when relevant) in English, by mail or letter, including the reference 'BASCOE/PROMOTE' to :

M. Philippe ITERBEKE
HRM
IASB
Avenue Circulaire 3
1180 Uccle (Bruxelles)
philippe.iterbeke@aeronomie.be

Applications should arrive by January 2, 2007. More information on IASB-BIRA, BASCOE, PROMOTE and GMES can be found at:
www.aeronomie.be
http://bascoe.oma.be
www.gse-promote.org
www.esa.int/esaLP/LPgmes.html

For more details about the contents of the job, please contact:
Dr. Quentin Errera
IASB-BIRA
Tel.: (+32) 02/373.67.67
email: quentin@aeronomie.be

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