Scientist Remote Sensing of Agriculture

VITO develops technology to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable society and economy. One of the key technologies applied in this context is Remote Sensing. The Remote Sensing Unit of VITO celebrated last year its 25th anniversary but Remote Sensing has never been more fascinating than today. With the increasing number of satellites, drones, processing facilities and technologies like artificial intelligence, the opportunities with remote sensing are larger than ever.

Meanwhile the Remote Sensing team of VITO counts more than 120 motivated scientists, IT engineers and project managers. To facilitate the growth of our ambitions we are looking for an extra colleague, more specifically a Scientist with focus on remote sensing of agriculture.

As part of the Agriculture team you will be working on research projects for institutional clients like the European Commission, the European Space Agency or the Flemish government. However, you can also be involved in more applied research for commercial customers in the agro-food sector. This function requires sound skills in remote sensing, data science, and coding in an operational context. Knowledge of machine learning techniques, and especially expertise in deploying foundation models at scale in an operational context would be a strong asset.

The tasks should be executed with a high degree of independence, though in close collaboration with the internal and external team members. In VITO you will report on the progress of your work to the Team lead of the Agriculture team, outside VITO you will communicate on your work in meetings with clients or partners.

You will operate in an international setting and take initiative to liaise with project partners, companies or stakeholder bodies. Therefore, good communication skills with project partners, end-users and stakeholders are a must.

We are looking for a creative and highly motivated colleague, with the following qualifications:

Must have

• You hold a Master or PhD degree related to bioscience engineering, civil engineering, or environmental sciences

• You hold a related PhD or you have at least 5 years of hands-on experience in remote sensing research projects

• You have thematic background & knowledge in environmental and/or agriculture sciences

• You have sound programming skills in Python or R

• You have proven expertise in remote sensing data processing, geo-information systems, statistics and big data analysis

• You have proven expertise in applying machine learning techniques on remote sensing data

• You have a proactive and flexible working attitude

• You have excellent writing and presentation skills in English

• You have excellent team/client interpersonal skills

• You have a strong interest to work in an international environment

Nice to have

• Technical expertise in crop type mapping with remote sensing data is an asset

• Hands-on experience in the agriculture sector is an asset

Offer

• We work 'activity-based', our activities bring us to our location. Our headquarter is in Mol. Part-time working from home or a satellite office in Antwerp-Berchem, Genk, Leuven or Ostend is possible.

• A competitive salary with a range of benefits, including allowances, insurance and a modular package of holidays.

• Innovation is our asset, so it goes without saying that we give our employees the opportunity to take additional training courses and stay up-to-date in their field. You will always have the opportunity to broaden your knowledge and discover new technologies.

• You will have the opportunity to be part of an organization with an international reputation, known for its cutting-edge technological research and scientific consultancy.

• With us, you will contribute directly to sustainable developments at local, national and global level through your innovative applications. You provide answers to contemporary societal challenges.

• Moreover, we highly value a good work-life balance at VITO! This is achieved by adopting a flexible attitude depending on your specific needs.