ESA

Lead Quality Technical Authority

Noordwijk, Netherlands

Full Time

3 hours ago

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Job description

Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Description

Lead Quality Technical Authority, Quality Department (TEC-Q), Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC).

Reporting to the Head of the Quality Department, you will serve as the technical reference for the Directorate in the domain of Quality. You will be responsible for providing strategic technical leadership, coordination and expertise across the technical domains of Quality, Dependability and Safety, Materials and Processes, EEE Components and Quality and Space Debris Mitigation at system level. This includes ensuring a consolidated technical position and alignment among multidomain experts, fostering technical excellence, technology development and innovation, and promoting and overseeing knowledge management while serving as a catalyst for collaboration across domains and stakeholders.

Duties

Your main responsibilities will include:

technical coordination and the provision of consolidated expertise to projects/programmes:
- Acting as a sounding board for the Directorate’s Management, providing recommendations and guidance on complex technical matters in the relevant technical domains;
- Aligning diverging perspectives and providing a consolidated technical position across the relevant technical domains to ensure consistency and alignment with the Directorate's objectives;
- Providing ad hoc expertise and recommendations for projects and programmes in complex or critical areas of Quality and relevant technical domains to manage and reduce technical risks;
- Overseeing the consistent application of relevant technical standards and best practices across projects by leveraging knowledge of lessons learned from previous projects;
- Providing independent technical assessment capability to project reviews, TEBs and ad hoc boards as required.

supporting the Head of Department in monitoring and coordinating Quality-related activities:
- Screening the weekly reports of the TEC Team and the MPTB Chair, anomaly reports from the Directorate of Operations, and review board reports with regard to Quality matters and lessons learned and initiating coordination meetings and actions where necessary;
- Attending and contributing to TEC-Q management meetings;
- Monitoring NCRs, IPNs and ESA alerts closely to identify general problems across directorates and to address related strategies and needs in close cooperation with the Heads of the PA and Safety Offices and the Quality and Product Assurance Management Division (TEC-QP);
- Supporting cross-cutting audits and inspections as identified by TEC-Q in close cooperation with TEC departments;
- Participating as required in failure investigations in close cooperation with the ESA Inspector General (DG-I).

contributing to technology development and innovation:
- In close collaboration with sections, divisions and departments, overseeing the alignment of technology development activities across multiple technical domains with ESA technology programmes and R&D strategy;
- Contributing to the development of R&D plans, roadmaps, strategies and processes to address user and programme needs;
- Fostering the use of best engineering practices and methods, innovative technologies and solutions in projects and programmes;
- Integrating inputs from the relevant technical domains, including industry, relating to technology and manufacturing readiness, supply chain and manufacturing capabilities to support technology maturity across the Directorate;
- Identifying opportunities for technology development across multiple technical domains, including global technology trends in other industries and their adaptation to the space field.

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knowledge management and knowledge-building:
- Overseeing quality and consistency in knowledge management in the relevant technical domains;
- Fostering a knowledge-sharing culture across the technical domains and in multiple projects and programmes;
- Promoting the transfer of knowledge and lessons learned within ESA, identifying means and best practices to disseminate information across technical domains and projects;
- Developing technical training plans and strategies to build and strengthen competencies in areas of innovation within the relevant technical domains;
- Developing and facilitating training courses and workshops across the technical domains with a focus on the system level for both internal and external audiences as required;
- Leading the development of relevant ECSS standards in the relevant technical domains;
- Mentoring engineering experts and technical authorities on technical leadership aspects, fostering a holistic system view.

community engagement and collaboration:
- Engaging with external stakeholders, such as European and international industry, agencies and academic institutions, to support cross-fertilisation and foster the advancement of technologies and engineering methodologies across multiple technical domains;
- Driving collaboration among communities and networks across technical domains, identifying and enabling multidisciplinary synergies to address complex technical challenges and stimulate novel ideas.

Technical competencies

General background and specific experience in the technical domains covered by the position

Knowledge of ESA technology programmes and the organisation of R&D activities

Strategic technical leadership in the relevant technical domains

Technical advisory, including the assessment and management of technical risks, and support to projects

Technology foresight and innovation development

Knowledge of the relevant technology landscape, trends and developments relating to Quality and multiple technical domains

Knowledge of space engineering standards and their application

Knowledge management

Leadership of cross-disciplinary technical communities and networks

Excellence in communication, including verbal and written communication, presentation and negotiation skills

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 an engineering or scientific discipline is required.

Additional requirements

A minimum of 20 years’ professional experience is required, of which at least 15 years as a recognised technical lead in the domain of Quality PA and in related space applications
Project support experience in relevant technical domains
Experience in managing and monitoring industrial activities, including leading reviews
Experience in leading multidisciplinary technical working groups, expert networks or communities
A proactive and collaborative approach in supporting colleagues in knowledge-sharing and problem-solving
Professional curiosity, both at technical and at strategic level

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
Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations & eligible to acquire the security clearance by their national security administrations.

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, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, 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.