Senior Instrument Scientist

JR United Kingdom; Leicester; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job description

EarthSense delivers critical air quality information to a wide customer base across the UK and the world. We have established a market-leading position within the UK, and have a rapidly-growing export market, leading to EarthSense being one of the global leaders in small-form air quality monitoring and services.

We look after our customers, and strive to deliver the best quality service and data quality across all pollutants and environmental conditions. As such, we are looking to recruit a highly skilled and passionate individual to lead significant aspects of our data quality agenda.

Role Overview

The Senior Instrument Scientist will play a critical role in ensuring the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of EarthSense’s air quality sensor fleet and future developments. This position is ideal for a candidate with strong expertise in sensor technology, data validation methodologies, and atmospheric measurement techniques.

You will be responsible for designing and implementing calibration and validation protocols, ensuring our sensor systems meet regulatory standards and best practices. You will work hands-on with EarthSense’s proprietary air quality instrumentation, conducting lab-based and field-based validation studies to quantify sensor accuracy, stability, and long-term performance.

The role will be using advanced data quality and statistical techniques to assess measurement uncertainty, sensor drift, and cross-sensitivity effects. You will collaborate closely with hardware engineers, software developers, and data scientists, feeding insights back into our sensor development lifecycle to drive continuous improvements in measurement accuracy and system performance.

As a key technical expert, you will be ensuring continued compliance with Air Quality monitoring standards whilst contributing to the design of next-generation air quality monitoring solutions.

The ideal candidate will be driven by a passion for air quality, data quality, cutting edge product development and making a real-world environmental impact.

Key Responsibilities

Research & Development

• Work in conjunction with the data science team to identify sensor technology using product requirements, research and industry standards.
• Develop and implement robust calibration, validation, and quality control protocols for air quality sensors.
• Design test programs focused on air quality sensor performance, categorisation and evaluation.

Data Quality

• Monitor and assess the quality of sensor data, identifying and resolving anomalies, drift, and measurement errors.
• Work with the data science team to design algorithms using Machine Learning techniques, Neural Networks and other statistical techniques.
• Identify areas for improvement in data quality such as cross interferences or environmental impacts in new target territories.
• Work closely with data quality team to identify new global co-location opportunities and help maintain, analyse and evaluate our current pool of co-location studies.

Standardisation & Compliance

• Develop and own the roadmap for achieving further accreditations and compliance standards.
• Ensure continued compliance with relevant air quality measurement standards (e.g., DEFRA (PAS), MCERTS, EU Directives (CEN) and WHO guidelines).

Minimum Requirements

• Strong background in air quality monitoring with experience in instrumentation, calibration, and data validation.
• A degree (or equivalent experience) in Environmental Science, Atmospheric Science, Physics, Engineering, or a related field.
• Understanding of low-cost sensor technologies and their performance compared to reference instruments.
• Experience with data analysis techniques for air quality measurements, including statistical methods for quality assurance.
• Familiarity with DEFRA, MCERTS, EU air quality standards, and WHO air quality guidelines.
• Hands-on experience with air quality instrumentation, including maintenance, deployment, and troubleshooting.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify and resolve issues in data accuracy and sensor performance.
• Ability to communicate complex technical information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience with Python or R for air quality data processing and analysis.
• Machine Learning, Neural Networks and Big Data experience.
• Knowledge of IoT sensor networks, data acquisition, and telemetry systems.
• Experience working with air quality models and integrating sensor data into modelling frameworks.
• Previous experience in ISO 17025 laboratory accreditation or similar quality management systems.

What can EarthSense offer?

• Starting salary up to £50k, based on experience, with bonus potential (up to 45% of base salary, yearly).
• Enjoy 25 days of paid leave plus public holidays and day off on your birthday. Earn an additional day off every year, up to 5 days.
• Buy or sell up to 5 days of holiday each year to suit your needs.
• Access to WeCare health and wellbeing scheme to support physical and mental health. We'll also cover prescription eyewear!
• Choose tech that suits you best – whether it's a Windows or Mac.
• Plus our tech purchase scheme provides tax efficient options for personal items.
• Exclusive discounts for high-street shopping and Cycle-to-work Scheme.