Project Manager in Earth Observation / Imaging Spectroscopy

The Department of Geography hosts several research groups working on a variety of topics developing remote sensing technologies and applications and assessing key drivers of global change and biodiversity. This position is embedded in the Remote Sensing Laboratories, comprising five professorships and several research and service groups with expertise in various remote sensing techniques such as spectroscopy, radar and LiDAR techniques in application fields such as biodiversity, water systems, change monitoring, and Earth system sciences.

We invite applications for a Project Manager position in the field of Remote Sensing with application in satellite Earth Observation and biodiversity.

Your responsibilities

The post includes the project management of a European Space Agency (ESA)-funded project to further develop the science case of a new, innovative satellite mission idea to improve capabilities to monitor global biodiversity. With the BioScale project, we want to address the scientific questions around the scaling of (long-term) biodiversity assessments, with Sentinel-2 and the future CHIME mission in mind, as well as understanding how to distinguish the “living” part of a signal from sensor-specific and observational effects.

Your profile

We are looking for a scientist/engineer ideally holding a PhD or similar experience in Earth Observation, Remote Sensing, or similar fields. In addition, experience working in the domains of biodiversity-related research, imaging spectroscopy / hyperspectral, or satellite mission (design) is highly desired.

Criteria for the position:

• Experience in imaging spectroscopy / hyperspectral data
• Experience with radiative transfer modelling / DART simulations
• Experience with ESA-type projects and/or a strong background in project planning and realization (project management)
• Analytical and systematic thinking, with a solid mathematical background
• Innovative and critical, out-of-the-box thinking, curiosity, strong motivation to learn new things
• Background in remote sensing-based biodiversity-related research
• Strong communication skills for a (truly) interdisciplinary team and to handle user-oriented communication
• Experience in satellite mission design

What we offer:

• Embedding in an extremely motivated, need-driven and innovative project team
• Technical work on research questions and engineering development regarding the mission idea
• A flexible and agile work environment to allow for creative ideas
• Guidance to learn managing an ESA project and navigating in the space community
• An interdisciplinary team and work environment and a supportive team culture
• Opportunity to evolve in a transdisciplinary team, including engineers, natural scientists and industry partners

Information on your application

To apply, please upload the following documents in English with the button "Apply now" below:

• Letter of motivation
• Complete CV
• Other useful documents

The deadline for applications is June 25th, 2026.

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