Following his PhD in Geography, Dr Müller's career included management positions at environmental research centres in Germany, Italy, and the UK. He managed the Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission and helped setting up the Commission's current Scientific Advice Mechanism. Other roles have included that of the Science Diplomacy Co-ordinator for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, and the first Science & Technology Advisor of the European External Action Service – both prior to his joining the Directorate-General Research and Innovation as Coordinator for Science Diplomacy and Multilateral Relations.