Closing Date: 21/04/2024

The Cyprus Institute (CyI) is a European non-profit Science and Technology oriented Educational and Research Institution based in Cyprus and led by an acclaimed Board of Trustees. The research agenda of the CyI is pursued at its five Research Centres, among which, the Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre (CARE-C), a 100-research staff Center of Excellence established by the European Commission and the Cyprus Government to address Air Pollution and Climate Change issues in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) region.

The Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory (CAO; https://cao.cyi.ac.cy/) of CARE-C, has been established by the Cyprus Institute in 2015 with the objective to establish long-term (multi-year) high quality atmospheric observations representative of the EMME region and better document air pollution and climate change (current levels and future trends).

The CAO is currently part of ACTRIS, AERONET, WMO (GAW), TCCON and EMEP international networks and aims to integrate additional EU research infrastructure such as ICOS. It is attracting high caliber scientists from several European institutions conducting research on ambient gas and aerosol science and technology. The CAO gathers the latest generation of scientific instrumentation for in-situ online monitoring of aerosol properties, reactive and greenhouse gases species following international standardized operating procedures.

The Cyprus Institute invites applications for a highly qualified and motivated individual to join the Institute as a Senior Technical Research Specialist in Atmospheric Sciences in the CARE-C. The successful candidate will advance the CARE-C’s research and innovation agenda in its scientific focus of Environmental (Atmospheric) Observations area through supporting the long-term operation of CAO. The successful candidate will be a member of a dynamic team composed by young talented scientists and technical experts, working in a highly attractive and international environment (English is the formal working language at the CyI).

The successful candidate will also support research programs with environmental/atmospheric applications at the Cyprus Institute (field campaigns in Cyprus and abroad) as well as technical developments in collaboration with other CyI research facilities developing miniaturized atmospheric sensors for atmospheric observations.

The successful candidate should be an expert user of a large suite of scientific instruments and instrument communication protocols. She/He will be responsible for providing technical support to the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) with the aim to enhance the atmospheric network in Egypt, under the framework of the project S.id.E (on PM source apportionment) funded by World Bank Group.

The candidate will access and benefit from large European scientific networks (e.g. H.E. Net4Cities, ACTRIS) for training and dissemination activities and get offered the opportunity to participate in a number of field campaigns within the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The initial period of the appointment will be for a duration of 24 months with the possibility of renewal, depending on performance and availability of funds. An internationally competitive remuneration package will be offered, which is commensurate with the level of experience of the successful candidate.

Responsibilities/activities to be involved in:

1. Enhance the operation of commercially available scientific instrumentation by applying hardware modifications
2. Be responsible for the routine operation, control, calibration, and scheduled maintenance of scientific instrumentation following international Standard Operation Procedures (ACTRIS, ICOS, GAW).
3. Enhancing the operation of state-of-the-art scientific instruments (e.g. ACSM, xACT, AE33) under the framework of the EU H.E. project “Net4Cites”: Real-time monitoring networks and transport emissions for tailored Zero Pollution Action Plans in European cities (EU HORIZON-CL5-2023-D5-01) by applying hardware modifications to these instruments.
4. Support the Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory (CAO), National Facility of the European Research Infrastructure “ACTRIS” for long-term measurements of aerosols and reactive species.
5. Engagement in international field campaigns

Required Qualifications

1. M.Sc. degree in Atmospheric or Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering or related field
2. At least 5 years’ experience in atmospheric in situ measurements
3. Excellent knowledge of the English language, both verbal and writing
4. Experience in instrument manufacturing including sampling inlets
5. Knowledge on hardware communication protocols (e.g. Modbus)
6. Demonstrated development ability, outstanding organizational, analytical, problem solving and communication skills
7. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to adopt to a multicultural/multinational environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in machine shop activities
• Programming skills (e.g. Matlab, R, Python)

Application

For full consideration, interested applicants should process their application at The Cyprus Institute Exelsys Platform (https://bit.ly/3HDLRTw) based on the instructions given. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae including a short letter of interest, list of publications and a list of three (3) referees (including contact information) (all documentation should be in English and in PDF Format). For further information, please contact Prof Jean Sciare (j.sciare@cyi.ac.cy). Please note that applications which do not fulfill the required qualifications and do not follow the announcement’s guidelines will not be considered.

Recruitment will continue until the position is filled.

The Cyprus Institute is an Equal Opportunities Employer certified from the Cypriot Ministry of Labor and also an HRS4R accredited Institution that adheres to the European Commission’s “Charter & Code” principles for recruitment and selection.

Contact person: Prof Jean Sciare

Reference number: CARE-C_TRS_24_05