Senior Scientist - KSB/VUB - FED-tWIN-mandaat Earth Climate Observatory (ECO) space mission

<h2>1 - Context</h2> <p> </p> <p>Werken bij VUB</p> <p>For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. </p> <p> </p> <p>At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. </p> <p> </p> <p>Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. </p> <p> </p> <p>Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.</p> <p> </p> <p>Working at KSB</p> <p>The Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) – see https://www.astro.oma.be/en/ - was founded in 1826, before the independence of Belgium. It is a Federal Scientific Institution (FSI) belonging to the Belgian Science Policy (Belspo). Researchers at the ROB study planet Earth, the sun as well as other objects from the near and far universe, with a strong focus on space missions. Among the scientific disciplines of the ROB we may find astronomy, planetology, geophysics, seismology, space geodesy and solar physics. For these, the ROB cooperates with numerous international centers.</p> <p> </p> <p>At ROB, the ECO FED-tWIN researcher will work in the Operational Directorate (OD) "Solar Physics and Space Weather" – see https://www.sidc.be/. This OD has about 50 staff on a full-time equivalent basis and has applied research activities around solar observation from Earth, amongst others through the world data center for long-term sunspot observation, through the space missions Proba 2, EUI on Solar Orbiter and Proba 3, and through space weather services operating under the umbrella of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).</p> <p> </p> <h2>2 - Position description</h2> <p>The Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) and the Vrije Universiteit van Brussel (VUB) are jointly hiring a senior researcher in the context of the FED-tWIN programme, a federal research programme of the Belgian Science Policy ("Belspo")</p> <p> </p> <p>More concretely your work package contains: </p> <p> </p> <p><u>Education and Research domain:</u></p> <p> </p> <p><ul> <li>ECO: Earth Climate Observatory –for the measurement of the most Essential of all Climate Variables (ECVs): the Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI) (Research Profile Prf-2022-010 ECO between ROB and VUB)</li> </ul></p> <p> </p> <p><u>Research tasks:</u></p> <p> </p> <p><ul> <li>Climate change is one of the great challenges of our time.  The most essential of all change agents is the so-called Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI).  EEI is the direct cause of global temperature rise. Its accurate measurement and monitoring is necessary to monitor that the Paris Climate Agreement and the European Green Deal are implemented fast enough to counter catastrophic climate change by keeping the global temperature rise below 2°C.</li> <li>You will be expected to work full time on the advancement of the Scientific Readyness Level and initially also the Technological Readyness Level, in order to contribute to the ECO Earth Explorer space mission selection for Phase B implementation.</li> </ul></p> <p> </p> <p><u> Education tasks:</u></p> <p> </p> <p><ul> <li>You will contribute to the teaching of the Department of Applied Physics and Photonics (TONA).</li> <li>In view of the research objectives of the FED-tWIN mandate, teaching activities will be limited during the first 5 years of the mandate.</li> <li>You can contribute to teaching in the VUB Master of Science programme Master of Science in Photonics Engineering in the field of optical design and photonic systems for a total maximum of 6 ECTS per semester.</li> <li>You are also supposed to supervise master's theses and PhDs related to the research to be conducted.</li> </ul></p> <p> </p> <h2>3 - Profile</h2> <p>What do we expect from you?</p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><p>You hold a PhD in Sciences or in Engineering Sciences, or a degree or certificate recognized as equivalent. When assessing a non-Benelux degree, an equivalence certificate must be requested from NARIC, see https://www.naricvlaanderen.be/en/recognitions/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications. We advise you, if applicable, to start the recognition procedure at NARIC as soon as possible. </p> <p> </p> <p>This PhD has been obtained not longer than 12 years prior to the predetermined submission date of your candidature file. This period is extended by 1 year fo