Galileo Lead Space Segment Engineer

ESA; Noordwijk; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

ESA seeks a Galileo Lead Space Segment Engineer for the G2B Space Segment Management Office at ESTEC, Noordwijk. You will lead the monitoring and coordination of subsystems for the navigation payload of Galileo Second Generation satellites, overseeing ground test campaigns and in-orbit activities.

Reporting to the Satellite Payload Manager, you will supervise a team of engineers from ESA's Technology, Engineering and Quality and Operations Directorates.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in electrical engineering or equivalent with 4+ years of relevant experience.
• Experience in navigation payload design, verification and validation.
• Ability to work in an international team and lead engineers across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Lead specification, design, procurement and verification of spacecraft hardware throughout the project lifecycle.
• Monitor industrial progress ensuring alignment with requirements and roadmap.
• Coordinate with PA and AIT during integration and testing activities.

Skills

Space segment engineering

Payload design

Project management

Verification & validation

PA standards

Education

Master’s degree in electrical engineering

Bachelor’s degree + 4 years experience

Job description

Galileo Lead Space Segment Engineer within the G2B Space Segment Management Services, Galileo Space Segment Management Office, Galileo and EGNOS Programme Department, Directorate of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity.

Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

• Type of Appointment: 4 years, extendable to indefinite
• Grade Band: A2 - A4

Description

You will report to the G2SB1-B Satellite Payload Manager and will be responsible for leading and coordinating the monitoring of the design, development, implementation and validation of the subsystems and units which are part of the navigation payload of the Galileo Second Generation satellites, including the ground test campaign, in-orbit commissioning and in-orbit follow-up phases.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• contributing to the management of the industrial activities by leading the specification, design, procurement, development and verification/acceptance of spacecraft, platform/payload and equipment hardware throughout the project lifetime, from ITT to flight commissioning;
• monitoring the industrial progress and design evolution at spacecraft, platform/payload and equipment levels, ensuring consistency with the technical and programmatic requirements;
• monitoring industrial verification activities to ensure proper verification including resolving non-conformances, and supporting the assessment of deviations and waivers;
• coordinating with PA and AIT during integration and testing activities for the resolution of activity deviations;
• contributing to the autonomy and operability concept, and supporting the FDIR definition (when requested);
• monitoring platform/payload and equipment competitiveness/roadmap as necessary;
• providing regular reporting to project management, and identifying technical risk areas, proposing and monitoring mitigation measures;
• contributing to the management of the schedule, and proposing schedule risk mitigation actions;
• monitoring the industrial preparation for launch and coordinating in-flight spacecraft commissioning and verification activities in collaboration with project teams and ground teams;
• coordinating various project engineering domains to cover the procurement of the hardware under your responsibility;
• potentially being delegated responsibility from project management regarding programmatic aspects;
• potentially supporting interactions with delegations and partners as required;
• leading a team of engineers and specialised engineering support from the Technology, Engineering and Quality and the Operations Directorates at ESA;
• contributing to the control and management of the satellite budgets in your areas of responsibility;
• coordinating and ensuring the timely delivery of the deliverable items (to enable the preparation of in-orbit operations) in your domain of responsibility, as set out in the industrial activities included in the statement of work;
• coordinating the preparation of the inputs in your area of expertise for the Satellite Verification Control Board and Space Segment Control Boards’ processes;
• participating in Agency project reviews and lower-level reviews in the relevant field of competence.

In performing these duties, you will cooperate closely with the relevant G2 system security engineers, systems engineers and ground segment engineers.

Technical competencies

• Multidisciplinary technical knowledge and experience in space segment engineering, including related PA standards.
• Knowledge and experience in platform/payload unit design, development, integration and verification.
• Experience in managing and monitoring industrial activities in ESA project environments.
• Knowledge of ESA development, verification and procurement processes.
• Relevant experience in the technical domain specific to the project.

Behavioural competencies

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

Education and professional experience

A master’s degree in electrical engineering is required for this post together with four years of relevant professional experience. Alternatively, candidates with a bachelor’s degree and an additional four years of relevant professional experience may be considered.

Additional requirements

G2B Satellite Payload Unit

• a minimum of 10 years of experience in payload engineering, AIT and/or test beds, of which a minimum of 5 years in navigation;
• experience in navigation payload design, particularly in the areas of on-board signal generation and/or advanced antenna technologies and concepts;
• experience in navigation payload system budget and performance analyses, including the use of required associated simulation tools;
• experience in navigation payload verification and validation concepts, as well as the associated test facilities.

Experience of cooperating with industry would be an asset.

You should be able to demonstrate that you can handle pressure and conflict as may typically occur in a project team.
You should be results-oriented, able to set priorities, and capable of presenting practical solutions both verbally and in writing. You should have good leadership, interpersonal and communication skills.You should have the ability to work autonomously, effectively and cooperatively in a diverse, international team environment, defining and implementing solutions in line with team and individual objectives and project deadlines.You should also have good technical, analytical, organisational and reporting skills, a proactive attitude to solving problems and an interest in innovative approaches.

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 & eligible to acquire the security clearance by their national security administrations.

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.

Nationality and Languages

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, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

According to the ESA Convention, staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, taking into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the 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.