Research Engineer (f/m/d) for the implementation of atmospheric observatories and automation

The Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) is a research institute of the Leibniz Association and an internationally renowned institute in the field of aerosol and cloud research.

The Atmospheric Chemistry Department (ACD) is looking for a motivated engineer or scientist (f/m/d) to support the implementation and operation of atmospheric observatories within the European research infrastructure ACTRIS ( www.actris.eu ), in particular the Schmücke Cloud Observatory (SCO) and the Melpitz Research Station (MEL).

• Design, implementation, and maintenance of workflows for data processing, instrument control, as well as data transfer and storage for continuous atmospheric monitoring devices.
• Design, development, and maintenance of automated monitoring systems and software infrastructure for long-term operation of atmospheric observatories (e. g., development of automated calibration process, inlet status controls, signal processing for automated data validation, …).
• Collaboration with the scientific team to ensure data quality and prepare data submission to the ACTRIS data portal.
• Technical support of research instruments to measure atmospheric composition in the gas, particle, and water phases, including online mass spectrometers (ACSM, PTR-MS, CIMS), trace gas monitors, filter samplers, and others. This includes installation of infrastructure, e.g., inlets, sampling lines, maintenance, as well as on-site instrumentation.
• Implementation of ACTRIS quality assurance (QA/QC) requirements and near-real time workflow following the measures and standard operating procedures (SOP) for the metrics of the respective devices, or assist in their development if not already in place.
• Contribute to R&D projects especially to the electronic aspects such as control, signal acquisition, processing, automatization, and communication interfaces of analytical devices.
• Undertake regular maintenances and calibrations of the equipment both on-site and in the TROPOS ACD laboratories.
• Participation in ACTRIS intercomparison workshops at European topic centers.
• Support preparation for and participation in ACTRIS-related intensive measurement campaigns at the observatories.
• Development and maintenance of database and data visualization tools for the ACTRIS infrastructure and intensive field campaigns.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree of a University or ‘Fachhochschule’, i.e. University of Applied Sciences level (or comparable) in a technical discipline such as environmental monitoring technology, electrical or automation engineering, measurement and sensor technology, information technology, environmental engineering,or a discipline of the natural science, e.g. chemistry, physics or meteorology.
• High intrinsic motivation, ability to work both independently as well as a part of a team, competent cooperation with international teams
• Good skills in programming or scripting for data processing (e.g. Python, R, MATLAB or similar).
• Solid experience with data acquisition systems and scientific or industrial instrumentation, including networking and remote access.
• Experience with databases, data monitoring, as well as data-visualization tools such as PostgreSQL and Grafana is beneficial.
• Experience with version control (and software development workflows (GIT, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines) is desirable.
• Experience with microcontrollers or embedded systems (e.g., Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP32) or electronic circuit design, such as KiCAD, would be an advantage.
• Careful, well‑structured working style, strong sense of data and process quality, and willingness to document and improve existing workflows.
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team, and to cooperate in international consortia.
• Very good knowledge of the English language, at least some basic German would be beneficial.
• Valid EU driver's license and willingness to travel frequently to the observatory sites, including overnight stays (especially at SCO).
• Knowledge and experience with atmospheric in-situ instrumentation, including online mass. spectrometry and offline instrumentation, would be beneficial.
• Background knowledge in atmospheric chemistry and physics would be beneficial.