Atmospheric scientist I
Content + Source + Freshness • 17 Dec 2025 • 95% confidence
Offer value
Strong potential for impact within environmental science, working with cutting-edge satellite technology on global methane emissions.
- Impactful work on global climate issues
- Engagement with advanced satellite technology
- Research-focused role with career growth potential
- Temporary position with potential job uncertainty
Pros
- Opportunity to tackle global climate issues
- Engagement with advanced satellite data and methodologies
- Strong collaborative environment with impactful research focus
Cons
- Temporary position might lead to job uncertainty
- Requires advanced technical skills in data analysis
- Potentially high-pressure work environment with strict deadlines
Who it's for
Early to Mid-Level • On-site
Good fit
- Environmental science professionals
- Research-oriented candidates with data skills
- Individuals passionate about climate issues
Not recommended for
- Candidates looking for permanent positions
- Those without relevant academic background
- Professionals averse to high-pressure research environments
Motivation fit
Key skills
About the job
Reducing methane emissions has become an absolute priority of global climate policy. Satellites have been both a catalyst and prime supporter of these reductions by revealing large emission hot spots around the world. SRON has been at the forefront of this revolution by providing key data and analysis. SRON is the co-Principal Investigator Institute for TROPOMI, a Dutch instrument realised together with ESA and launched October 2017. SRON’s responsibilities include the development and maintenance of the operational algorithms for methane and carbon monoxide. We have various research projects with high-impact stakeholders focusing on methane emissions using the TROPOMI satellite data, also in conjunction with high spatial resolution satellites like GHGSat, Sentinel-2, EnMAP, and VIIRS that allow us to pinpoint emissions to individual facilities, enabling mitigation efforts. You will analyse TROPOMI - and other satellite - methane data to study methane emissions around the world including from large super-emitters that are urgent mitigation targets.
You will be part of our team of scientists working on the interpretation of TROPOMI - and other - satellite data in the Earth Science Group (ESG) of SRON. The ESG consists of approximately 35 scientists (permanent, postdocs, PhD students) that work on the interpretation of satellite data, data processing, as well as the development of new instrumentation. Our team (~15 persons) develops methods to detect and identify sources and quantify emissions of various trace gases using satellite data in conjunction with atmospheric modelling and machine learning. Our research addresses topics with large societal relevance.
Your project
The focus of this project is on our contribution to the CAMS Methane Hot Spot service. At the core of this service are the detection and emission quantification of methane plumes in the TROPOMI data using ML approaches. We aim to further improve those detections and expand our methodology to the soon to be launched Sentinel-5 instrument. In addition, you will be responsible for the regular reporting in the project, including statistics on the detected emissions, support to the CAMS Methane Explorer App, etc. Your work will fit in and complement our ongoing research on methane (super-emitters) as part of UNEP’s IMEO-MARS, ESA’s MEDUSA project, and a Global Methane Hub funded landfill project.
You will present your work to various stakeholders as well as at scientific conferences, and publish your work in scientific peer-reviewed journals.
