Deadline: August 31, 2026 at 23:59 CET
The ESA Φ-lab CIN is now opening applications for visionary researchers and innovators in Transformative Technologies to strengthen ESA Φ-lab’s ongoing and future projects in Earth Observation (EO). Find out more and apply now.
Main Information
🖊️ Position Title: Visiting Researcher in AI for Reconstruction of the Terrestrial Water Cycle.
🎓 For: Master/PhD students or postdoctoral researchers in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field. A demonstrable experience with PyTorch is a minimum requirement.
🌏 Nationality: In possession of EU passport or work/student visa for Schengen zone.
📍Location: ESA Φ-lab, ESRIN, Frascati, Italy.
📅 Starting: October or November, can last for 3-6 months
Introduction and Context
This opportunity is in the context of the European Space Agency (ESA) Φ-lab Collaborative Innovation Network (CIN), an initiative to foster collaborations among Earth Observation and Transformative Technologies experts. The CIN was created with the aim of attracting high-level researchers, distinguished advisors and key leaders in the above-mentioned fields to the ESA Φ-lab at the ESA Centre for Earth Observation (ESRIN), Frascati, Italy.
ESA Φ-lab is the division of ESA with the mission to accelerate the future of EO by means of transformational innovation, i.e., innovations with the potential to create or transform industries via new technologies, thereby strengthening the global competitiveness of the European EO industrial and research sectors.
Pi School, which operates in the field of AI and research innovation and has numerous academic contacts through its staff, is responsible for supporting ESA Φ-lab in this mission by creating, managing, coordinating, animating the ESA Φ-lab CIN.
The visitor will additionally have the opportunity to collaborate closely with scientists at the Earth System Science Hub, ESA’s facility for advanced Earth system and climate science studies (also located at ESRIN).
Purpose and Scope of Work
This specific opportunity aims to engage with young researchers (PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, or equivalent) in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field that are eager to work on AI for Earth System Science. This collaboration offers a unique opportunity to shape next-generation AI capabilities in space and EO, with the potential to deliver high societal impact. The position is available to start immediately (on site) and will last for 3-6 months.
The project aims to extend our existing framework for reconstructing daily water-surface elevation from sparse, heterogeneous satellite observations across large river networks. Several complementary research directions can be considered, including but not limited to developing generative approaches that represent uncertainty and multiple plausible hydrological states; incorporating additional variables related to the terrestrial water cycle, such as precipitation and gravity-derived terrestrial water-storage anomalies; and introducing hydrologically meaningful constraints based on river topology, flow propagation and water- balance relationships. The project should also examine model predictions from a hydrological perspective, assessing their representation of hydrological dynamics, droughts, floods and spatial coherence in addition to standard reconstruction metrics. Finally, the framework will be adapted and evaluated on other major river basins worldwide, with the broader goal of supporting water-level monitoring in regions where in situ observations remain limited.
Practically the work will consist of developing and improving deep learning models, managing experiments on an HPC system, planning and evaluating experiments, evaluating predictions from a physical/hydrological perspective, contributing to scientific research articles.
Who are we looking for?
Through our selective process, we are looking for a Visiting Researcher, i.e. a highly motivated researcher or student in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field to support ongoing projects that apply AI to Earth system science. The researcher would join onsite at the ESA Φ-lab for a period of 3 to 6 months to collaborate with ESA Φ-lab staff and research fellows, as well as with scientists in ESA’s Science Hub. We are seeking researchers with a computer science or AI background, with strong programming skills and with practical experience with machine learning frameworks (this is a must), that have at least one peer-reviewed publication in an AI or ML related venue. They should have at least a strong interest in (or preferred: experience with) EO data and/or Earth system science. However, the call is open to candidates with expertise in Artificial Intelligence, even if their primary focus has not been on EO or Earth system science.
Key Responsibilities:
- Assist in the conceptualization of the methodology, considering the requirements outlined by the Earth system science use cases.
- Gather and preprocess relevant data from EO or other sources.
- Implement and run models and training on HPC infrastructure.
- Design, implement, run and interpret evaluations with special attention to relevance to Earth system science research communities.
- Contribute to joint scientific publications with academic partners.
Requirements:
- Ongoing or completed master or PhD in Computer Science, AI, or related discipline.
- Strong programming skills, demonstrable experience with Python and machine learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, Huggingface, Weights & Biases).
- Experience with git, linux, HPC infrastructure.
- Interest in Hydrology, Earth Observation, Earth system science and scientific research.
Opportunities:
- Collaborate with top-tier organizations and leading researchers in AI, EO and Earth system science.
- Contribute to high-impact publications and innovative projects.
- Work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment.
- Spend 3-6 months in the beautiful city of Rome
Type of Engagement
As a Visiting Researcher, you will be engaged through the Φ-lab Visiting Researcher Scheme: this is a collaboration performed at ESA Φ-lab with the goal of jointly advancing a specific research proposal of shared interest by leveraging shared expertise, resources and time within an ESA Φ-lab team. The collaboration is unpaid and ideal for researchers already affiliated with an academic institution or employed by a private company. We can provide a reimbursement for travel and accommodation costs of up to 1000 euros per month.
If selected, ESA will send you an invitation letter (see template here).
How to apply?
Interested candidates are invited to submit their application, including a detailed CV and any supporting documents or references in the form below. They are asked to include a brief research proposal or concept note outlining a potential area of collaboration aligned with both ESA Φ-lab's strategic focus and the topic summarized above, where they believe they could make a significant impact (maximum 4 pages, including bibliography).
Selection Criteria:
- Technical expertise and experience
- Alignment with ESA Φ-lab’s strategic objectives and mission goals
- Availability and flexibility for short-term engagements
- Interest in continuing collaboration after the stay at Φ-lab ends
- Compatibility with ESA Φ-lab’s collaborative and exploratory working culture
This call represents a unique opportunity to contribute to ESA Φ-lab and, more broadly, to ESA’s pioneering projects, influencing the future of space technology. We look forward to welcoming esteemed researchers who are eager to collaborate on transformative space initiatives.
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