Earth Observation Specialist

Overview of the Department

Agriculture is Ireland’s oldest and largest industry and in recent years has been transformed into a driver of our national economy and a world leader in the production of high-quality foods using sustainable and environmentally sensitive farming methods. While agriculture retains its roots in local communities, it has developed a global network where we provide safe and high-quality food to consumers in at least 175 countries around the world. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is at the forefront of these exciting developments as it implements its mission to ‘to lead, enable and regulate the sector in a way that optimises its contribution to social, economic, and environmental sustainability, ensuring food safety, public health and animal health and welfare’.

The agri-food sector encompasses all primary agriculture, forestry and the food processing industry, including seafood. Our marine remit relates to fisheries, aquaculture, fishery harbours, marine research, engineering and leisure.

Vacancies

The Department seeks to employ an Earth Observation Specialist. The post will be located at the Department’s office in Portlaoise, Co. Laois.

Following an assessment process, candidates who achieve the qualifying standard will be placed on an Order of Merit from which one appointment will be made. The post will be offered to the candidate ranked first and, if refused, to the remaining candidates in sequence until the post is filled. While it is anticipated that only one appointment will be made as a result of this competition, the Order of Merit will remain in place for a period of up to two years from the date of the first appointment, or until exhausted, and will be used to fill further vacancies, if any, that may arise during that period.

Temporary Vacancies

In the event that temporary vacancies for this post arise during the lifetime of the Order of Merit, the Department reserves the right to offer such temporary posts on the basis of the results of this competition. Candidates who accept such a temporary post retain their placing on the Order of Merit and the acceptance of such a temporary appointment in no way interferes with the normal process of appointing candidates to permanent posts that may arise.

Job Specification

The Role:

The Earth Observation Specialist will be a member of the Area Monitoring System team, reporting to an Assistant Principal Officer and supporting the work of the Department.

The primary purpose of this role is to support the Department in the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy Regulations. Successful candidates will need to have understanding and experience of processing Earth Observation data to provide added value outputs.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities of the Role:

· Contribute to Earth Observation and Area Monitoring projects through all stages, from concept phase, through requirements gathering and development, quality assurance, release, post release support and maintenance.

· Identify projects to develop an understanding of satellite data signals and develop proposals for Earth Observation processes including acquiring data, analysis, assessment, and final output.

· Participating actively in any structured discussions, forums etc., including with the Department’s IT Group where cross-functional Earth Observation issues are processed.

· Provide spatial data management and big data processing expertise and support.

· Support the Department in identifying and developing opportunities offered by the Copernicus programme.

· Collecting, classifying, pre-processing earth observation data (e.g. Sentinel imagery, aerial imagery etc.) and automating earth observation processes to allow for repeat analysis.

· Implementing object oriented, and pixel based remote sensing techniques and to develop change analysis methodologies to identify change between periods.

· Support the integration of spatial analysis and ground truthed data.

· Create and maintain technical documentation for all business processes, data preparation and processes, and earth observation methodologies.

· Provide training and familiarisation to business and technical users on Earth Observation and Area Monitoring as required.

· Managing resources.

· Representing the DAFM at National and International scientific and other fora.

Please note that this job description is intended as a basic guide to the scope and responsibilities of the position.

Person Specification

You will be:

· Interested in working in a diverse environment potentially working with cross-functional and cross-organisational teams.

· Interested in contributing to the design and delivery of quality public services supporting citizens, businesses, and public servants in their engagements with the State.

· Someone who takes a thorough and structured approach to organising tasks and solving problems and who can deliver on time against project deadlines.

· Someone who can establish and maintain good working relationships with others, identify their needs and be receptive and responsive to their queries.

· Confident and persuasive and able to explain complex ideas to a non-technical audience in a structured and concise manner with the ability to influence the choice of appropriate solution.

· Someone who keeps up to date with emerging technologies and is always eager to learn new skills.

· Driven by an ambition to be part of providing the best possible digital services to the customers in your host organisation, to businesses and to members of public.

You will:

· Enjoy working in an environment where there is ongoing and significant change and opportunities for new learning and experience.

· Have a commitment to developing yourself, and any staff you may be assigned, through training and on the job experience.

· Be a self-starter with the ability to multi-task and prioritise within tight deadlines.

Essential Requirements, Qualifications and Experience

Candidates must, on or before 12 noon on Wednesday, 18th February 2026, have

1.

A) A qualification at Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) major award, or higher, in Earth Observation, Remote Sensing Technologies, or a related field.

OR

B) A qualification at Level 8 on the NFQ or higher, with an additional higher qualification (Masters or PhD) in Earth Observation, Remote Sensing, or a related field.

AND

Candidates for this role must be able to demonstrate:

· The competencies expected by Civil Servants at the HEO level (see overleaf).

· An understanding of Remote Sensing Technologies, image classification and visualization.

2.

Desirable Experience & Skills:

· Two years recent practical field experience in Earth Observation including 3 of the following:

o A working knowledge of the Copernicus Sentinel Satellite Programme.

o Interpretation of multi-spectral and SAR satellite data for the identification of vegetation, land cover/land use and other purposes.

o Experience in automating spatial analysis methods.

o Experience in cloud computing, big data processing and management.

· Earth Observation & Spatial Analysis.

· Big Data Management.

· Software Development - knowledge in the use of scripting languages / tools such as JAVA, JavaScript, JSON, Python, FME and R.

· Experience in working with open source software such as QGIS, Jupyter and Leaflet or similar.

· Good knowledge of all technology architecture considerations (performance, scalability, maintainability, deployment, operations, technology infrastructure).

· Integration of in-situ data into earth observation process models.

· Experience designing geo-spatial architectures and infrastructures.

· Experience with RESTful services.

· Experience in using eCognition, ERDAS, SNAP or equivalent.

· Experience in the effective presentation of the results from Earth Observation Analysis.

· Ability to work effectively in a team.

· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (listening, written and verbal) with the capacity to present material in a clear, concise and comprehensive manner.

Important Note: Documentary evidence of the qualification which verifies how you meet the essential requirements must be submitted with your application.

Competencies

Applicants should have all the attributes required of an Earth Observation Specialist and in particular they must demonstrate, by reference to specific examples from their career to-date, that they possess or have the capacity to acquire the qualities, skills and knowledge required for the role of Earth Observation Specialist as identified in the following competency framework:

Application Process

How to Apply

Only Online Applications can be made and should be submitted via the Apply Now button below.

All sections of the form must be fully completed online.

Important Note: Documentary evidence of the qualification which verifies how you meet the essential requirements must be submitted with your application.

Closing Date

Your application must be submitted no later than 12 noon on Wednesday, 18th February 2026 to;

All queries relating to this recruitment campaign should be directed to dafm@cpl.ie with the subject heading - ‘Earth Observation Specialist 2026’.

Application acknowledgements:

All applications received will be acknowledged within 5 working days of the competition closing date. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within the 5 working days, please contact dafm@cpl.ie

Applications will not be accepted after the closing date.