ESA

Science Operations System Engineer

Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain

Full Time

3 hours ago

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Job description

Location
ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain

Description

The European Space Agency maintains a world-leading Science Programme with missions in heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics and fundamental physics. Its mission is to 'Empower Europe to lead space science'.

The Science Operations Department within ESA's Directorate of Science hosts the scientists and engineers that oversee space missions from study to end of operations. It develops the science operations systems for the missions and operates the missions in space, as well as archiving and curating their data during operations and beyond. Its main objective is to maximise the scientific output of the missions for the benefit of humankind.

As Science Operations System Engineer, you will support the design, implementation and testing of the science ground segment system, particularly the science operation centres of our science missions. You will initially be assigned to the LISA mission and report to the LISA Science Operations Development Manager in the Science Operations Development Division.

LISA will be the first space-based observatory dedicated to studying gravitational waves: ripples in the fabric of space-time emitted during the most powerful events in the Universe, such as pairs of black holes coming together and merging. LISA will be the first mission to probe the entire history of the Universe using these waves. It is targeted for launch in the mid-2030s.

Duties

You will be responsible for the science operations system engineering activities of the LISA mission for the remainder of the development and operations phases in the Science Operation Centre (SOC), working on the ESA components of the Science Ground Segment (SGS). The SOC, based at ESAC (Madrid, Spain), is responsible for the science planning, data processing and archiving activities of ESA’s contribution to the missions’ science operations. The Mission Operations Centre (MOC), based at ESOC (Darmstadt, Germany), is responsible for all spacecraft operations.

You will work in close collaboration with the LISA Project Scientist, the LISA Project Team at ESTEC in the Netherlands, the Mission Operations Centre at ESOC in Germany and the LISA consortium delivering components of the Science Ground Segment.

Your tasks and responsibilities will include the following:

setting up and maintaining the system engineering processes of the LISA Science Operations Centre (SOC) and supporting the wider Science Ground Segment (SGS) during the development and operations phases. This includes requirements management, interface definition and supervision of the SOC architectural design;
leading the LISA SOC system design and development plan, ensuring that processes, tools and strategies exist to support requirements capture, validation, verification and long-term maintenance;
defining, formalising and maintaining all required LISA SOC interfaces, interacting with representatives of the wider SGS elements, as well as with the Mission Operations Centre and international partners;
leading the overall LISA science operations integration and coordinating the SGS test campaigns, monitoring partner contributions and performing end-to-end validation;
contributing to the definition of the operations plan and associated operational procedures within the SOC and across the SGS;
developing and implementing SOC software, including core services, data pipelines and data transfer tools, while ensuring compatibility with mission requirements;
identifying and evaluating potential multi-mission engineering activities, tools and systems within the Department for reuse in the LISA SOC;
overseeing and managing SOC infrastructure, including the procurement of hardware, software and computational resources;
monitoring advancements in software engineering to detect potential applications within the Science Operations Department and provide inputs on the strategic and technical long-term evolution of software supporting science operations.

It is anticipated that your position will evolve to also support multi-mission solutions for science ground-segments and potentially other science missions in development in the Division.

Technical competencies

Experience in software systems engineering, from requirements engineering to design and development, and then verification and validation, preferably for science operations

Experience in development, operations and maintenance of ground infrastructure and/or software systems, preferably for science operations

Experience in space missions’ operations

Experience in dealing with industrial contracts, particularly those related to R&D

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

A master's degree in engineering, space science, space applications or equivalent is required for this post.

Additional requirements

One or more of the following would be additional assets for the position:

experience in designing scalable and distributed systems, preferably for science operations;
experience in project management for development activities involving multiple interfaces in the context of space science;
knowledge of science data processing;
knowledge of science operations planning;
strong problem-solving skills to deal with day-to-day operational challenges, together with demonstrated planning and organisational skills;
strong results orientation with the ability to set priorities and present practical solutions both orally and in writing;
the ability to manage challenging situations proactively and constructively and to be customer focused.

International experience, i.e., outside your home country, as well as experience in diverse functional areas relevant to ESA activities would also be an asset.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

At the Agency we value diversity, and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us via email at contact.human.resources@esa.int.

Important Information and Disclaimer
In principle, recruitment will be within the advertised grade band (A2-A4). However, if the selected candidate has less than four years of relevant professional experience following the completion of the master’s degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.

Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.

Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality and Languages
Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to internal candidates and secondly to external candidates from under-represented Member States*.

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.