Scientist emissions for Air Quality and Climate Change research

Want to make your mark on our time? Become a Scientist at TNO in Utrecht!

About this position

At TNO, we work on the topic of sustainability from multiple angles, including climate change and air pollution. The team Emissions within the department Air quality and Emissions Research (AER) at TNO focuses on emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants and their interconnections. We are looking for a new colleague to strengthen our dedicated team of approximately 12 people working on this complex topic.

What will be your role?

Our team is internationally recognized as a frontrunner in the field of quantifying and mapping anthropogenic emissions for policy related and scientific applications. With our work we support air quality and climate modellers (both within our department and in other institutes) to model atmospheric concentrations and deposition. We validate emission estimates and monitor emission trends in close collaboration with these modelling teams and using ground-based and earth observation data. We continuously improve our emission products using feedback from users, developing new tools and models, and staying up to date with the latest scientific advances and techniques.

Your role in the team will be to support these developments and further improve the quality, accuracy and applicability of our data products to optimally support effective action on the urgent issues of climate change and air pollution. Understanding, analysing and combining of different information sources is key. You will work on compiling emissions inventories for various emission sources and applications in Europe and beyond, as well as the high resolution spatial mapping of those emissions. In practice, this involves developing and optimizing our modelling tools, processing large amounts of data, performing uncertainty assessments and verification.

Your knowledge and skills will continuously develop as new topics and techniques arise in our field of research. One of these developments is the increasing demand for higher resolution (in both space and time) emission data, even down to the facility level. This allows comparisons with new high resolution satellite data to aid in emission verification. You will help facilitate these developments in various ways, together with a team of enthusiastic colleagues.

What we expect from you

You are passionate about air pollution and climate change and are eager to contribute to solving societally relevant environmental problems. You have a good understanding of the processes driving air emissions. You possess relevant skills such as interpreting and processing large datasets and are willing to develop these further. You are not afraid to ask critical questions and are eager to tackle new challenges together with your colleagues. You also have the following to offer:

• A MSc or PhD degree, preferably in environmental/earth sciences, physics, chemical technology or similar;
• Understanding of the main drivers of atmospheric emissions;
• Ability to work independently, critically assess own results and collaborate with the team;
• Good communication, reporting and presentation skills in both Dutch and English;
• Experience with programming in Python for handling large datasets.

What you'll get in return

Challenging and varied work with a real impact. And plenty of opportunities as, at TNO, you are in charge of shaping your career.

• An extremely professional, innovative working environment where colleagues are leading experts in their field.
• The opportunity to attend courses, workshops and conferences, and to receive training and coaching based on your needs.
• 33 days annual leave on a full-time basis.
• Flexible working hours, the possibility to work parttime (32 of 36 hours) and the possibility of working from home.
• Access to our Talent Development Programme.
• Networking opportunities and great activities organized by Jong TNO.
• Extensive relocation package for international candidates.
• A good pension scheme.

TNO as an employer

At TNO, we innovate for a healthier, safer and more sustainable life. And for a strong economy. There is all the space and support for your talent and ambition. You work with people who will challenge you: who inspire you and want to learn from you. Our state-of-the-art facilities are there to realize your vision. What you do at TNO matters: impact makes the difference. Because with every innovation you contribute to tomorrow’s world.