Operations Engineer

Space Applications Services NV/SA; Noordwijk; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Partial remote work

International team

Training & development programs

Job summary

Space Applications Services NV/SA seeks a candidate based at ESTEC (NL) or EAC (DE) for the Training & Operations Team in the Services Department. You will report to the Team Lead and interact with the Customer and other entities, with occasional travel to Europe or the U.S.

The role requires a Master Degree in Aerospace Engineering and at least 4 years in human space flight mission operations, strong organizational and communication skills, and the ability to work in distributed international

Qualifications

• Master Degree in Aerospace Engineering or similar.
• Minimum 4 years of experience in human space flight mission operations, with emphasis on ISS and Columbus operations.
• Strong ability to cope with schedules and deadlines.
• Ability to synthesise, summarise and draw conclusions.
• Ability to adhere to strict confidentiality.
• Ability to work in distributed international teams.
• Excellent written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Perform operations engineering activities for operations product generation and technical operations engineering work as required.
• Provide support and represent the mission operations service at ESA internal boards/panels and review boards with Space Station program/NASA or other IP boards/meetings as required.
• Support the Mission/Payload Control Center(s) and Mission Operations contract management as necessary, e.g. by attending progress meetings, division meetings and team meetings.
• Provide operations engineering support/expertise to projects in the C/D phase, establishing or updating the operations concept in cooperation with the assigned USOC and flight control team.
• Support the update or monitoring of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for the mission operations service in coordination with stakeholders (Payload Control Centres, USOCs, Mission Operations Service, training service and engineering and ground segment service).
• Review and assess first time Experiment Science Requirements (ESRs) for operational feasibility and identification of new operational requirements.
• Define/ establish and manage the “Big picture status reporting” for all ESA hardware on-board the ISS with regards to the operational status.

Skills

Aerospace operations

Team collaboration

English proficiency

Organisation skills

Independent work

Confidentiality

Education

Master degree in Aerospace Engineering

Job description

Position

The successful candidate will be based at ESTEC (NL) or EAC (DE).

Within Space Applications Services, the position is in the Training & Operations Team, in the Services Department, which comprises 30 persons. The candidate will report to the Training & Operations Team Lead and the Services Department Manager, and interact with the Customer and other entities on a regular basis. The work includes occasional travels to Europe or U.S.

• Location: ESTEC (NL) or EAC (DE)




• Start date: As of November 2026.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Perform operations engineering activities for operations product generation and technical operations engineering work as required




• Provide support and represent the mission operations service at various ESA internal boards/panels and review boards as well as Space Station program/NASA or other IP boards/meetings as required (e.g. Crew time working group, Attitude working group)




• Support the Mission/Payload Control Center(s) and Mission Operations contract management as necessary, e.g. by attending progress meetings, division meetings and team meetings




• Provide operations engineering support/expertise to projects in the C/D phase, , with the goal to establish or update the operations concept in cooperation with the assigned USOC and the flight control team




• Support the update or monitoring of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for the mission operations service in close coordination with the relevant stakeholders (e.g. Payload Control Centres, USOCs, Mission Operations Service, training service and engineering and ground segment service)




• Review and assess first time Experiment Science Requirements (ESRs) for operational feasibility and identification of new operational requirements




• Define/ establish and manage the “Big picture status reporting” for all ESA hardware on-board the ISS with regards to the operational status (e.g. rack & payload operations status, anomalies, etc.).

Skills and Experience

• A Master Degree in Aerospace Engineering or similar




• Minimum 4 years of experience in human space flight mission operations, with an emphasis on ISS and Columbus operations, e.g. former certified flight controller/ops lead or console support person.




• Strength to cope with schedules and deadlines




• Ability to synthesise, summarise and draw conclusions




• Ability to adhere to strict standards of confidentiality




• Ability to work in distributed international teams




• Excellent organisational and communication skills




• A proactive approach, with initiative and ability to work independently




• Excellent written and spoken English.

Our Offer

• Working within an exceptional sector with Staff located in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands




• A professional and modern working environment with motivated Administrative Staff, Engineers, Astronaut Training Instructors and Scientists coming from all different horizons and countries with a common passion for space and their own expertise




• A full-time position with an indefinite contract of employment




• A competitive remuneration package and good working conditions




• Working from home in part can be a possibility




• An individualised training and development programmes.