Lead Optical Payload Engineer for Future EO Missions

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY; Noordwijk; Remote; EUR 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

European Space Agency’s Earth Observation Directorate seeks an Optical Payload and Performance Engineer to lead end-to-end definition, engineering, breadboarding and pre-development of optical payloads for future EO missions, including Earth Explorers and Copernicus.

Reporting to the Head of the Optical Instruments Section, you will coordinate with science and technology groups, develop performance models, and manage industrial contracts and risk retirement activities.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in engineering or physics and 5+ years of relevant EO optical experience.
• Experience in EO optical instrument preparation or development.
• Strong teamwork, coordination with scientists and users, and ability to work autonomously.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end definition, engineering, breadboarding and pre-development of EO optical payload systems.
• Assess performance and readiness with cross-team collaboration for Phase 0/A studies.
• Define and manage industrial contracts for studies and risk retirement of optical payload concepts.

Skills

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

Education

Master's degree in engineering or physics

Job description

European Space Agency’s Earth Observation Directorate seeks an Optical Payload and Performance Engineer to lead end-to-end definition, engineering, breadboarding and pre-development of optical payloads for future EO missions, including Earth Explorers and Copernicus.

Reporting to the Head of the Optical Instruments Section, you will coordinate with science and technology groups, develop performance models, and manage industrial contracts and risk retirement activities.