Spacecraft Operations Engineer for Astronomy Missions (f/m/d)

Overview

Location: ESOC, Darmstadt
Working hours: full time, 40h/week
Requirement: EU citizenship
Submission deadline: 22nd of June 2025
Start date: January 2026

About LSE Space
We are an independent provider of space services, covering the entire life cycle of space systems, as the main subsidiary of SSC's Engineering Services. Employing over 190 engineers, we provide services to the international space market, including support for all phases of a space mission or full service, operations, independent consulting and training.

Do you have passion for deep space, cutting-edge science, and complex mission operations? Embark on an exciting journey with us to help Earth benefit from space.

We are looking for highly motivated and skilled Spacecraft Operations Engineers to support ESA missions in the field of astronomy and fundamental physics. This includes current and future missions such as XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL, PLATO, ARIEL, EUCLID, VIGIL, OPS-SAT SpaceLab, and others.

Security:
In line with security requirements for the concerned missions of this position, the candidate has to hold a European citizenship. Evidence of eligibility will be required from candidates as part of the recruitment process. Furthermore, in view of the nature of the work the company is in, all potential employees will undergo stringent reference and identity checks

What you´ll do

• Support end-to-end mission operations, from early development to routine operations, including the following for one or various subsystems:
  • Spacecraft design support and reviews.
  • Flight Operations segment development, including back-up control centre.
  • System tests coordination, preparation and execution.
  • Flight Operations Procedures (FOP), data base and tools preparation, validation and maintenance for all mission phases, including LEOP, commissioning and routine operations.
  • OBSM preparation and management.
  • Mission planning.
  • Real Time operations, including LEOP, commissioning and routine.
• Supervise automated operations.
• Provide On-call support and anomaly handling.
• Perform Spacecraft performance analysis and reporting.
• Coordinate Ground segment maintenance and validate of ground segment updates.

What we are looking for

• Master´s degree in Aerospace engineering, Telecommunications, Physics or in a similar subject
• Proven experience in Astronomical missions operations and ground segment validation
• Proficiency in SCOS2000; knowledge of EGOS-CC is a strong asset.
• Experience with operational simulators and mission planning systems
• Familiarity with scripting languages (e.g., Python) for automation of operational tasks
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Fluent in English, both in speech and writing
• Eligible and willing to handle export-controlled information