Senior Scientist (Interoperability)

1.POST CONTEXT

This is a position within the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) an organization of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

CMRE is an established world-class scientific research and experimentation facility that organizes and conducts scientificresearch and technology development centred on the maritimedomain delivering innovative and field tested Science & Technology (S&T) solutions to address defence and security needs of the Alliance.

The position is within the Research Division (RD) which is responsible for identifying developing and delivering Science & Technology (S&T) solutions to the needs of the Alliance in the maritime domain.

The Division leads the development of CMREs scientific strategy and through its capability in ocean sensing numerical modelling big data analytics artificial intelligence and autonomy delivers the Centres S&T goals while maintaining CMREs reputation within the scientific community.

The Research Division is comprised of the five following branches:

1.Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW)

2.Autonomous Naval Mine Warfare (ANMW)

3.Environmental Knowledge and Operational Effectiveness (EKOE) & Climate Change (CC)

4.Data Knowledge and Operational Effectiveness (DKOE)

5.Maritime Unmanned Systems Enablers (MUSE)

The Scientist will be part of the Maritime Unmanned Systems Enablers (MUSE) section responsible to support the program of work in developing and investigating innovative and cutting-edge scientific research.

The expected scientific focus is the area of interoperability for Maritime Unmanned Systems specifically targeting development and validation of research-informed standards to support the deployment of Unmanned Systems throughout the Alliance.

The Scientist will be assigned as Team Leader and may also be involved within other projects within the CMRE Program of Work. Under the guidance of the MUSE section head the incumbent will be responsible to support CMREs research in unmanned/autonomous vehicles and to work in close collaboration with other researchers to support the overall execution of the Programme of Work.

2.PRINCIPAL DUTIES

The incumbent is responsible for the development of conceptual aspects for command-and-control of Unmanned Systems their translation into data model(s) and their subsequent implementation and validation as message sets exchanged during trials and exercises.

The scientist will work in close collaboration with other CMRE scientists and engineers working with unmanned and autonomous systems with the goal to develop scalable and flexible solutions to enable interoperable and secure operations with unmanned and autonomous systems.

Such solutions will be integrated into NATO standards supporting the adoption of networked robotic assets into military operations across the warfare areas.

Scientific duties include the following:

• Be able to perform decompose and coordinate the scientific work for more junior staff and other function on the activities developed under these topics;
• Propose (internally and to external sponsoring programs) and perform specialist research and development on all these themes receiving guidelines from the Project Leader and Programme Manager;
• Plan and execute simulated and field (at sea) trials and demonstrations;
• Plan and conduct experimentation including theoretical and data analysis properly documenting and reporting all steps of the work;
• Document the performed work in technical and scientific Centre reports short papers refereed scientific journals and internal/external presentations;
• Interact with national and international scientific establishments in order to remain abreast of the latest technical and scientific principles and practices on these matters;
• Management activities may include:
  • Responsibility for small teams dedicated to theoretical and experimental studies in the topics above distributing workload and providing basic problem solving;
  • Coordinate teams carrying experimental work at sea on board the research vessels or through the Centre reach-back facilities;
  • Delivery of results according to the CMRE Programme of Work rules and quality control regarding scientific content work package deliverables within these topic areas.
• Coordinate the work of established and senior scientists;
• Manage grants customer and projects;
• Organize full conferences and workshops;
• Define a cohesive and long-term program of work with a solid vision;
• Manage financial aspects of the project.

3.SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND ADDITIONAL DUTIES

a.Flexibility Clause

The incumbent may be required to perform other related duties as directed.

All other related duties should correspond with the required competencies for the job.

b.Deployment/Travel

The incumbent may be required to perform their duties onboard Centre or chartered vessels. The incumbent may be required to undertake TDY assignments within and outside NATO boundaries.

c.Certification

The incumbent needs to hold a fit for sea certificate in line with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) standards before taking up duty.

4.ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

a.Professional Experience

• Sound experience with Unmanned Systems and in particular autonomous systems and their command-and-control requirements;
• Experience in designing developing or supporting command-and-control architectures for Unmanned Systems;
• Experience in the practical usage of data modelling software tools;
• Programming: knowledge of at least one of the following programming languages the knowledge of more programming languages will be considered a plus:
  • C
  • Python
  • C#
  • Java
• Solid knowledge and scientific experience in physics mathematics engineering or related field demonstrated by a record scientific or technical publications in the fields of Unmanned Systems software architectures communications engineering or related field(s);
• Excellent documenting abilities;
• Experience conducting scientific/technical project work within a multi-national environment demonstrated through project participation;
• Experience in the scientific/technical supervisory role including resource and budget management;
• A strong track record of interoperability-related work in the field of unmanned / autonomous systems.

b.Education/Professional experience

• MSc degree in physics mathematics engineering or related field with a specific focus on unmanned/autonomous vehicles or related field and at least 8 years of relevant post related work experience.

Or

• PhD in physics mathematics engineering or related field with a specific focus on unmanned/autonomous vehicles and at least 5 years of relevant post related work experience.

c.Language Requirements

A thorough knowledge of one of the two NATO languages both written and spoken is essential and some knowledge of the other is desirable.

English SLP 3333

NOTE:Most of the work of CMRE is conducted in the English language.

5.DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

A subset of the following experience requirements is desirable:

• Experience with Enterprise Architect.
• Deep knowledge of STANAG 4817 down to the different volumes.
• Knowledge of data architectures to support unmanned systems operational deployments.
• Knowledge of the NATO Standardization Agreement processes.
• Project management certification (e.g. PRINCE2).
• Documented experience in managing scientific projects.
• Demonstrated ability to obtain funding for new research activities.
• Sea-trial participation experience.
• Experience to work with Navys and/or Defence organizations.
• Internationally recognised member of their technical community of interest
• Standard Language English 4444 (Listening Speaking Reading and Writing).

6.ATTRIBUTES/COMPETENCIES

The successful candidate possess the following competencies / personal attributes:

• Excellent communication skills both oral and written able to communicate at all levels;
• Very good interpersonal skills. Adapts to the team solicits inputs and encourages others;
• Innovative and driven. Always displaying sound judgement;
• Excellent time management and organizational skills;
• Clear analytical thinking. Learns rapidly and manages knowledge effectively.

All CMRE personnel are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the current NATO Code of Conduct agreed by the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and thus display the core values of integrity impartiality loyalty accountability and professionalism.

7.REMARKS

The duties are performed in an office laboratory workshop environment or on-board Centre ships. Slightly undesirable working conditions may apply.

The nature of this position may require the staff members to be called at times to travel for work and/or to work outside normal office hours.

About Us:

The Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) is part of the NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO).The mission of the STO is to help position both national and NATO science and technology investments as a strategic enabler and technology advantage for the defence and security posture of NATO Allies and partners. The Centre conducts scientific research and technology development and delivers innovative field-tested S&T solutions to address the defence and security needs of the has more than 60 years of experience and has produced a cadre of leaders in ocean science modelling and simulation acoustics and other disciplines as well as producing critical results and understanding that have been built into the operational concepts of NATO and the Nations.

What we offer:

• Salary (Pay Basis): 7055.72(EUR) Monthly*
  *Salary value as per 2025. Subject to future adjustments in accordance with North Atlantic Council decisions.
• Grade ABCL grade A3/ NATO grade G17

• A world class research facility located in the sea port of La Spezia Italy supported by two specialised research vessels.
• An exciting place in which to work situated at an ideal location the port of La Spezia Italy enabling synergy with regional and global academic institutes and industry.
• Salary and conditions of employment will be in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations (NCPR) which includes a rewarding salary and a comprehensive system of allowances supplements and insurances to support families and in case of expatriated staff offers an interesting expatriate package.
• A generous annual leave and (where eligible) home leave.
• The successful candidate will be offered a three years definite duration contract which may be renewed for subsequent periods subject to business needs satisfactory performance and the need to rotate skills and talent within the Organization.
• Applicants who prove to be competent for the post but who are not successful in this competition may be offered an appointment to another post of a similar nature which might become vacant in the near future albeit at the same or a lower grade provided they meet the necessary requirements.

Our recruitment process:

• Please note that we can only accept applications from nationals of NATO member countries.
• Applications (including the most relevant publications the diplomas - stating the highest level of education - and a CV) for this vacancy are to be submitted using the E-recruitment system.
• Appointment will be subject to receipt of a security clearance (provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate) and approval of the candidates medical file by the CMRE Medical Adviser.

Additional information:

• CMRE values diverse backgrounds and perspectives and is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and talented workforce. We welcome applications of nationals from all Member States and strongly encourage women to apply.
• Selected candidates are expected to be role models of integrity and to promote good governance through ongoing efforts in their work.

For more information on how to apply:

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NOTE:

NATO will not accept any phase of the recruitment and selection prepared in whole or in part by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools including and without limitation to chatbots such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Chat GPT) or other language generating tools. NATO reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared in whole or in part by means of such generative or creative AI applications may be rejected without further consideration at NATOs sole discretion and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.