C072a - Project Officer Experimentation

European Defence Agency; Brussel Hoofdstad; On-site; EUR 45,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The European Defence Agency (EDA) in Brussels is seeking a Project Officer Experimentation to manage and execute experimentation activities, aligning with member states’ operational needs and capability priorities. The role supports planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting to drive military innovation.

You will coordinate with national test centres, digital sandboxes and contractors, ensuring traceability between challenges and outcomes.

Qualifications

• University degree in engineering, science, defence studies, operational research or systems engineering.
• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience, after degree.
• Experience in defence experimentation, test/evaluation, trials or capability development.
• Experience in international/multinational cooperation in experimentation or trials.
• Good command of written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Support planning and implementation of EDA experimentation activities.
• Assist in development of trial plans, objectives, scenarios and evidence collection.
• Coordinate with member states' test centres, ranges and operational units.
• Prepare technical/operational documentation for experimentation activities.
• Analyze results for military utility assessment and procurement decisions.
• Coordinate with participating companies, MS representatives and experts.
• Contribute to continual improvement of experimentation methodologies and playbooks.
• Prepare briefings, reports and other deliverables for stakeholders.

Skills

Team work

Multinational environment

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Problem solving

Education

University degree in engineering/science/defence studies/operational research/systems engineering

Job description

BACKGROUND

C072a - Project Officer Experimentation at the European Defence Agency (EDA), Brussels, Belgium. Contract type: Agency’s Contractual Staff. Grade: N.A.. Directorate: Research, Technology & Innovation Directorate (RTI). Reference: EDA/2026/C072a. Security clearance: SECRET UE/EU SECRET. Application deadline: 2026-11-26.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) was established on 12 July 2004, and is governed by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency. The Agency has its headquarters in Brussels.

The main task of EDA is to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the Union's defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as it currently stands and as it develops in the future.

The Agency is structured into four directorates. The Corporate Services Directorate (CSD) and three operational directorates: Capability, Armament & Planning (CAP); Procurement, Support, Industry & Interoperability (PSII); Research, Technology & Innovation (RTI).

THE AGENCY'S WAY OF WORKING

The Agency is an “outward-facing” organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all of the Agency’s functional areas, to realise its objectives. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of commitment, flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction.

THE RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION DIRECTORATE (RTI)

The Research, Technology & Innovation Directorate (RTI) supports Member States in translating defence priorities and operational needs into technological solutions and future capabilities. On the basis of the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda, it provides an integrated, end-to-end service covering technology identification and prioritisation, collaborative research and technology development, innovation, experimentation, and support for the transition of promising solutions towards operational use.

Through its Capability Technology Working Groups, technology programmes and experimentation activities, RTI promotes collaborative defence research and innovation in areas of common interest. The Directorate also coordinates EDA’s contribution to EU-funded defence research and innovation programmes, supports the implementation of activities entrusted by the European Commission, and facilitates the management, exploitation and uptake of results in line with Member States' priorities.

The RTI Directorate comprises:

• Technology Programmes Unit (TPU) supports Member States in identifying and developing priority defence technologies through the Capability Technology Groups, the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda and collaborative R&T activities. It brings together capability pull and technology push across the air and space, maritime and land domains, as well as information superiority, cyber and resilience, power and control technologies, while promoting greater cross-domain cooperation and coherence;
• EU Programmes and RTI Coordination Unit (EPC) ensures the coherent planning, coordination and monitoring of the RTI Directorate's portfolio. It coordinates the Directorate's engagement in EU-funded defence research and innovation programmes, supports the implementation of entrusted activities, and promotes synergies between collaborative R&T, innovation, experimentation and capability development activities;
• Centre for European Defence Innovation (CEDI) provides a coherent and scalable innovation and experimentation function supporting Member States along the full innovation pathway. CEDI connects promising technologies and innovative solutions with end users, testing and experimentation facilities and potential follow-on pathways, helping Member States assess military utility, reduce adoption risks and accelerate the transition towards operationally relevant and deployment-ready solutions.

DUTIES

Under the supervision of the Head of the Centre for European Defence Innovation, the Project Officer Experimentation will contribute to the following activities:

• support the preparation, coordination and implementation of EDA experimentation activities aimed at assessing innovative solutions against Member States’ operational needs and capability priorities;
• contribute to the planning and delivery of challenge-driven experimentation activities, including digital experimentation, modelling and simulation activities, field trials, demonstrations and operational experimentation campaigns;
• assist in the development of experimentation plans, including test objectives, scenarios, assessment metrics, data collection approaches and evidence requirements, ensuring traceability between operational challenges, test activities and assessment outputs;
• support coordination with Member States’ test centres, ranges, operational units, digital sandboxes and other relevant experimentation environments;
• contribute to the preparation of technical and operational documentation for experimentation activities, including trial plans, participant guidance, evidence templates, risk registers, after-action reports and lessons learned;
• assist in the collection, structuring and analysis of experimentation results, ensuring that outputs are usable for military utility assessment, capability development, transition planning and procurement-related decision-making;
• support the coordination of participating companies, Member State representatives, technical experts, operational users and contractors involved in experimentation activities;
• contribute to the development and continuous improvement of EDA experimentation methodologies, playbooks, templates and common approaches, in order to increase comparability, reproducibility, and reusability of reusability of results across Member States;
• contribute to the preparation of briefings, reports, presentations and other deliverables for Member States, EDA management and external stakeholders on experimentation activities and results;
• support the organisation of workshops, planning meetings, demonstration events, visitor days and other activities linked to EDA experimentation campaigns;
• take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

Duties may evolve according to the development of EDA’s structure and activities, and the decisions of EDA management.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To be considered eligible to take part in this selection procedure, on the closing date for the submission of applications candidates must satisfy all the eligibility criteria as specified below:

• be a national of a Member State participating in the Agency;
• be entitled to their full rights as citizens;
• have fulfilled any obligations imposed on their by the laws concerning military service;
• produce the appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties (extract from the “judicial record” or certificate of good conduct will be requested prior to recruitment);
• be physically fit to perform their duties;
• have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1 oral and written) of one of the languages of the participating Member States and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2 oral and written) of another of these languages to the extent necessary to discharge their duties;
• have no personal interest (financial, family relationship, or other) which could be in conflict with disinterested discharge of their duties within the Agency;
• hold, or be in a position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (national or EU PSC at SECRET UE/EU SECRET level). Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (PSCC) means a certificate issued by a competent authority establishing that an individual is security cleared and holds a valid national or EU PSC, and which shows the level of EUCI to which that individual may be granted access (SECRET UE/EU SECRET), the date of validity of the relevant PSC and the date of expiry of the certificate itself. Note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a PSCC can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate;
• have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma or be a graduate of a national or international Defence College.

Only diplomas that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration. In the latter case, the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment reserves the right to request proof of such equivalence.

For diplomas awarded in non-EU countries, a NARIC recognition is required: https://www.enic-naric.net/

Qualifications/diplomas awarded until 31/12/2020 in the United Kingdom are accepted without further recognition. For diplomas awarded after this date (from 01/01/2021), a NARIC recognition is required.

It should be noted that due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 31/01/2020, candidates from the United Kingdom who do not hold the nationality of another participating EU Member State, are not eligible.

For native English speakers, your ability to communicate in another EU language will be tested during the selection process. To assess your foreign language levels, see: https://europa.eu/europass/en/common-european-framework-reference-language-skills

SELECTION CRITERIA

A. Essential

Only applications meeting all essential selection criteria will be assessed.

(1) Professional

The candidate will be required to demonstrate that he/she has:

• a university degree(or equivalent academic degree) in a field relevant to the duties, such as engineering, science and technology, defencestudies, operational research or systems engineering;
• at least three (3) years of relevant professional experience, acquired after the award of the qualification required as a condition of eligibility;
• proven experience in one or more of the following areas: defence experimentation, test and evaluation, operational trials, capability development, R&T projects, or defence innovationtechnical activities;
• proven experience in supporting the preparation and conduct of experimentation, trials or test activities,including test planning, data collection, risk management and post-activity reporting;
• proven experience in international or multinational cooperation in operational experimentation, trials and/or military exercises, supported by concrete examples of the role and contribution;
• a good understanding of the European defence cooperation environment and of EDA’s role in supporting Member States;
• a very good command of written and spoken English.

(2) Personal

All staff must be able to fit into the Agency's way of working (see para. 2). Other attributes important for this post include:

• ability to work in a team and independently in his/her area of responsibility;
• ability to work effectively in a multinational environment;
• reliability and capacity to work under pressure with limited supervision;
• good communication and organisational skills;
• strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills;
• results-orientation and strong motivation;
• flexibility and innovativeness;
• genuine commitment to the Agency's objectives.

B. Desirable

The following will be considered an advantage:

• hands-on experience with specialisedexperimentation tools or environments, such as digital sandboxes, modelling and simulation platforms, test ranges ortechnology demonstrators;
• knowledge of test and evaluation methodologies, military utility assessment, validation and verification, or operational analysis;
• familiarity with safety, cyber, security, classification, export-control or data-handling considerations in technical trials;
• recognised training in project management, systems engineering, test and evaluation, operational analysis or modelling and simulation.

APPOINTMENT AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR CONTRACT AGENTS AT EDA

EDA, whose staff are governed by its own Staff Regulations, offers specific conditions of employment with regards to contract duration and pension arrangements.

CONTRACT DURATION

The Project Officer Experimentation will be appointed by the Chief Executive. Recruitment will be as a member of the contractual staff of the Agency for a 4-year period. Renewal is possible only once for an additional period of 5 years, within the limits set out in the EDA Staff Regulations. The successful candidate will be recruited as Contract Agent, grade FGIV. In line with EDA's Staff Regulations, the Agency does not offer inter-Agency mobility.

FINANCIAL ENTITLEMENTS

The pay for this position consists of a basic salary of 4.449,31 € supplemented with various allowances including, as applicable, expatriation or family allowances. Successful candidates are graded on entry into service according to the length of their professional experience. Salaries are exempted from national tax, instead an Agency tax is deducted at source.

PENSION ARRANGEMENTS SPECIFIC TO EDA

Prospective staff members considering a career at the European Defence Agency (EDA) should be aware that EDA has its own pension provisions and is not part of the EU institutions' pension scheme (PSEUI).

In addition, EDA staff have several flexible options regarding their pension contributions at the end of their contract, under certain conditions, such as:

• transfer to a public pension scheme;
• transfer to a private pension scheme;
• direct payment as a severance grant.

For further information on working conditions please refer to: https://eda.europa.eu/jobs/what-we-offer

INDEPENDENCE AND DECLARATION OF INTEREST

The selected candidate will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the Agency’s interest and to make a declaration in relation to interests that might be considered prejudicial to their independence.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

EDA is an equal opportunities employer and accepts applications without distinction on the grounds of age, race, political, philosophical or religious conviction, sex or sexual orientation and regardless of disabilities, marital status or family situation.

DATA PROTECTION

Please note that EDA will not return applications to candidates. The personal information EDA requests from candidates will be processed in line with Regulation (EU) N° 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices, agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) 45/2001 and Decision No. 1247/2002/EC.

The purpose of processing personal data which candidates submit is to manage applications in view of possible pre-selection and recruitment at EDA. More information on personal data protection in relation to selection and recruitment can be found on the EDA website: http://www.eda.europa.eu/jobs/dataprotection