Vacancy in the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes.
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.
This post is classified A2-A4 on the Coordinated Organisationsโ salary scale.
Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands
Description
The System Analysis Section provides support to all Earth Observation missions across all mission phases, from early studies to disposal. It conducts studies to improve performance in the domains of mission analysis and mission planning, with the most prominent ones including geometry calculations, orbit and attitude definition, orbit and attitude control strategy, mission data downlink strategy, fuel budget and formation flying.
The scope of these studies covers the mission implementation phases before launch to support improvements to the mission design. They also cover the commissioning and routine operations phases after launch to support corrections of anomalies or mission definition changes.
You will be responsible to ensure allocation of competent manpower to adequately cover:
- performance assessment/improvement studies performed for Earth Observation missions at the request of the mission engineers and scientists;
- performance improvement studies proposed by the System Analysis Section, based on the extensive experience accumulated over several decades by the office team.
You will report functionally to the Head of the System Support Division.
Duties
Specifically, your tasks will include:
- conducting, reviewing and consolidating system analysis tasks for Earth Observation missions in the above domains;
- providing expert support, as required, to the Future Missions Managers during Phase A of the missions;
- providing expert support, as required, to the Satellite Managers during Phase B-C-D-E1 of the missions;
- supporting operations teams during the launch preparation, LEOP and commissioning phases;
- providing expert support, as required, to the Mission Managers during Phase E2-F of the missions;
- consolidating and applying standard work methods and subsequent document structures for mission and system analysis;
- managing the software contracts for the key software tools procured by the division to support the system analysis tasks (with these tools also made available to our partners);
- participating in key mission reviews to provide expert advice to the mission teams and, if appropriate, propose analysis studies.
When performing your duties, you will be required to:
- interface with mission engineers and scientists to define and report on the relevant studies;
- interface with the Flight Dynamics teams in the Directorate of Operations to ensure the proper coordination and sharing of system analysis tasks, as necessary;
- interface with the Post-Launch teams in the System Support Division to define and report on the Phase E2-F-relevant studies;
- support the satellite teams in interfacing with the launcher teams;
- interface with software experts in the System Support Division to ensure proper software definition and quality for the software tools developed by the Section.
You will also be responsible for identifying, assessing, managing and reporting the health and safety risks in your area of responsibility.
Technical competencies Experience with end-to-end mission and system analysis in Earth Observation, including space and ground elementsKnowledge of mission analysis software toolsKnowledge and experience of on-board operations, orbit and attitude control, and space-to-ground data communicationsKnowledge and experience of mission planning systems, and S-, X- and Ka-Band ground station usage (geometry, interference)
Behavioural competencies
Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward ThinkingEducation
A master's degree in in an engineering field or related subject is required for this post.
Additional requirements
You should further have:
- Experience with negotiating with partners on the precise needs of a study and the expected outputs;
- Strong coordination skills;
- The capacity to develop and apply pragmatic solutions in an environment of high complexity (at system and team organisation levels);
- The ability to specify and implement ad-hoc software tools to support the required tasks;
- The ability to provide clear synthetic reports;
- The potential to manage individuals or a team;
- The ability to organise their activities and ensure a motivating work environment;
- Strong leadership capabilities, with proven relationship management and communication skills;
- The ability to drive your teamโs performance, developing your people by encouraging learning, delegating responsibility and giving regular and constructive feedback;
- Strong problem-solving skills to deal with day-to-day operational challenges, together with demonstrated planning and organisational skills;
- Strong results orientation with the ability to set priorities and present practical solutions both orally and in writing;
- The ability to manage challenging situations proactively and constructively and to be customer focused.
People management experience is an asset, as is international experience, i.e. outside your home country, as well as experience in diverse functional areas relevant to ESA activities.
Other information
For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.
For further information please visit: Professionals, What we offer and FAQ
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.
The Agency may require applicants to undergo selection tests.
At the Agency we value diversity and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us email contact.human.resources@esa.int.
Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to internal candidates and secondly to external candidates from under-represented Member States*.
In accordance with the European Space Agencyโs security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service.
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 masterโs degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.
*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.