AI & Automation Specialist

ECMWF is building its in-house capability to deliver AI‑enabled improvements across its corporate functions, and this role is at the centre of it.

As AI & Automation Specialist, you will work across ECMWF's administrative functions to turn pressing operational problems into working solutions.

You will prototype, build, automate and deliver hands‑on.

This is an individual contributor role with genuine scope, and you will see your work in use, not in a backlog.

Your role

You will report to the Corporate AI Coordinator and support Finance, HR, Procurement, Communications, IT/Helpdesk and other administrative functions as needed, typically on document analysis, workflow automation, data extraction, and applying LLMs and agentic systems to corporate use cases.

You work as an individual contributor, not as part of a software‑engineering team.

You prototype and build each solution to a working state yourself in alignment with stakeholders, then hand it to ECMWF's technology delivery teams or external suppliers to harden, integrate and deploy, including deeper integration over time with future systems such as the ERP.

The result is real improvements corporate teams can use day to day, and a foundation for ECMWF's longer‑term digital transformation.

About ECMWF

The European Centre for Medium‑Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is a world leader in Numerical Weather Predictions providing high‑quality data for weather forecasts and environmental monitoring.

As an intergovernmental organisation we collaborate internationally to serve our members and the wider community with global weather predictions, data and training activities that are critical to contribute to safe and thriving societies.

• Your Responsibilities
• Solution Design, Prototyping & Delivery
• Analyse corporate workflows and pain points; assess technical feasibility, data availability, integration constraints, and security/compliance considerations.
• Propose and implement appropriate tools, architectures, and integration patterns for each problem.
• Build proofs‑of‑concept and prototypes using available AI and automation tools.
• Work closely with corporate units throughout, ensuring solutions align with operational realities and organisational policies.
• Requirements, Documentation & Handover
• Translate business problems into clear technical requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria.
• Map data sources, data flows and dependencies relevant to each use case.
• Document processes, integration points and solution designs in a structured and accessible way.
• Prepare technical handovers to enable future scaling, further internal development or vendor implementation.
• AI, Agents & Automation
• Apply LLM‑based techniques to corporate use cases: document analysis, structured extraction, knowledge retrieval, summarisation, and classification.
• Design and build AI agents and assistants (tool/function calling, grounding in organisational knowledge, instruction design, evaluations, and human‑in‑the‑loop oversight) using Copilot Studio or equivalent platforms, and custom approaches where they fit better.
• Build and maintain workflow automations using among others the Microsoft stack (Power Automate, Copilot Studio, Share Point, Dataverse).
• Support early testing, iteration, and refinement of use cases.
• Collaboration & Advisory
• Work closely with the ECMWF Corporate AI Coordinator on prioritisation and sequencing of use cases.
• Participate in workshops, interviews and discovery sessions with corporate units.
• Coordinate with operational teams, subject‑matter experts and IT colleagues.
• Contribute technical insight to the broader AI strategy, ERP readiness and roadmap.
• What We Are Looking For
• Pragmatic and outcome‑driven; chooses the right tool for the problem and balances speed against risk.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with a proactive, structured approach to spotting opportunities and naming constraints early.
• Adaptable and responsive to evolving priorities, requirements and user needs; comfortable working iteratively within existing systems, processes and constraints rather than expecting a blank slate.
• Excellent communication skills, able to engage clearly and confidently with technical teams, remote colleagues and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and meet competing deadlines.
• Builder mindset with a strong sense of ownership.
• Collaborative team player, effective within cross‑functional and multidisciplinary teams.

Your profile

Essential criteria

• Candidates should have a university degree (EQF level 6) or equivalent experience in a relevant field such as computer science, data science, information systems, business analytics, engineering or a related discipline.
• Proficient in a scripting language (e. g. Python) and SQL.
• Demonstrated experience applying cloud‑based AI/LLM services in production settings, including patterns such as retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), document processing, structured extraction and classification.
• Experience designing and building AI agents or assistants, including tool/function calling, grounding in organisational knowledge, and instruction design.
• Hands‑on experience with workflow automation, building and maintaining automated processes end to end.
• Ability to understand business processes and translate them into clear technical requirements.
• Fluency in English is essential as candidates will be required to work effectively in English.

Desirable criteria

• Experience with the Microsoft Power Platform (Power Automate, Copilot Studio, Share Point, Dataverse), with openness to other tools where they fit better.
• Experience building AI agents using Microsoft Copilot Studio or equivalent platforms.
• Experience with data integration and pipeline plumbing: moving, transforming and reconciling data across systems so AI components can consume it reliably.
• Familiarity with agentic coding tools (e. g. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Git Hub Copilot).
• Experience documenting workflows, system interactions and dependencies.
• Experience engaging and building relationships with staff at various levels of seniority across departments, and driving the adoption of new, more efficient ways of working.
• Experience gathering requirements, testing ideas, and explaining technical findings clearly to non‑technical audiences.
• Experience supporting business users through workshops and training.
• Knowledge of one of the Centre's other working languages (French or German) is an advantage.
• Other Information

Grade remuneration: The successful candidates will be recruited according to the scales of the Co‑ordinated Organisations.

Full details of salary scales and allowances available on the ECMWF website at www. ecmwf. int/en/about/jobs.

Interviews will take place by videoconference via MS Teams.

As a multi‑site organisation, ECMWF has adopted a hybrid organisation model which allows flexibility to staff to mix office working and teleworking, including away from the duty station (within the area of our member states and co‑operating states).

Successful applicants and members of their families forming part of their households will be exempt from immigration restrictions.

Who Can Apply

At ECMWF, we consider an inclusive environment as key for our success.

We are dedicated to ensuring a workplace that embraces diversity and provides equal opportunities for all, without distinction as to race, gender, age, marital status, social status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, personality, ethnicity and culture.

We value the benefits derived from a diverse workforce and are committed to having staff that reflect the diversity of the countries that are part of our community, in an environment that nurtures equality and inclusion.

Applications are invited from nationals from ECMWF Member States and Co‑operating States.

In these exceptional times, we also welcome applications from Ukrainian nationals for this vacancy.

Applications from nationals from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases.

ECMWF Member States and Co‑operating States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

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