VN 25/61 Ground Stations Operations Engineer
EUMETSAT operates a growing fleet of Earth Observation satellites in Low Earth and Geostationary orbits (currently comprising EUMETSAT Meteosat Second and Third Generation and Metop First and Second Generation satellites, Copernicus Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-6 satellites). In parallel, EUMETSAT is working towards the launch of a number of future missions, including the EUMETSAT Polar System โ Sterna (EPS-Sterna). This is a new constellation of microsatellites that will each carry a state-of-the-art microwave sounder. The initial constellation is composed of 6 satellites in sun-synchronous orbit.
Within the Real-Time Services and System Operations (RSO) Division, Ground Stations Operations Engineer will be responsible of the ground stations operations preparation activities for future programmes, ground station services procurements and will support the evolutions of the EUMETSAT Ground Stations. The post holder will also coordinate routine and special operations of EUMETSAT Ground Stations and outsourced ground station services.
Duties
- Coordination of the operations of EUMETSATโs operational ground stations and externally provided ground station services;
- Implement arrangements and coordinate with the EUMETSAT teams providing expert engineering support for ground stations maintenance, based on Service Level Agreements;
- Interface and coordinate activities with external service providers and partners;
- Analysis of Ground Stations and external ground station services anomalies and coordination of their resolution;
- Analysis of ground stations operations and performance, proposing evolutions where applicable;
- Validation of Ground Stations systems upgrades and evolutions and management of small evolution projects;
- Support the procurement of the ground stations and other related systems and tools;
- Support and/or lead the procurement of ground stations service contracts;
- Support the transition into operations of ground station systems and services, for future satellite systems;
- Coordination of the production/validation of operational procedures and training of the operations teams.
LOCATION Darmstadt, Germany
QUALIFICATIONS
University Degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline (e.g. Telecommunications Engineering, RF Engineering, Aerospace Engineering).
LANGUAGES Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and have some knowledge of French.
DEADLINE
17 November 2025
Duties
- Coordination of the operations of EUMETSATโs operational ground stations and externally provided ground station services;
- Implement arrangements and coordinate with the EUMETSAT teams providing expert engineering support for ground stations maintenance, based on Service Level Agreements;
- Interface and coordinate activities with external service providers and partners;
- Analysis of Ground Stations and external ground station services anomalies and coordination of their resolution;
- Analysis of ground stations operations and performance, proposing evolutions where applicable;
- Validation of Ground Stations systems upgrades and evolutions and management of small evolution projects;
- Support the procurement of the ground stations and other related systems and tools;
- Support and/or lead the procurement of ground stations service contracts;
- Support the transition into operations of ground station systems and services, for future satellite systems;
- Coordination of the production/validation of operational procedures and training of the operations teams.
Skills and Experience
- Experience of complex ground stations systems operations in a 24/7 real-time spacecraft operations environment, preferably in Earth Observation, is required;
- Experience in complex ground station system engineering, including validation of ground stations and/or ground station services is required;
- Experience in procurements of ground station services is required;
- Experience of team coordination and project management is required;
- Experience in operations preparation activities is required, additional experience in the transition to operations of ground stations (and/or ground station services) for new satellite systems would be an advantage;
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with proven ability to apply these to interactions within a team and between teams is required;
- Experience in procurement of maintenance and site support services would be an advantage;
- Experience supporting in Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) operations from ground stations would be considered an advantage.
Employment Conditions
The initial contract will be of 4 yearsโ duration, with subsequent 5 year contracts being awarded thereafter, subject to individual performance and organisation requirements. There is no limit to the amount of follow-up contracts a staff member can receive up to the EUMETSAT retirement age of 63 and there are certainly opportunities to establish a long career perspective at EUMETSAT.
This post is graded A2/A4 on the EUMETSAT salary scales. The minimum basic salary for this post is EURO 7,340 per month (net of internal tax but excluding pension contribution and insurances) which may be negotiable on the basis of skills and experience. The salary scale provides for increments on the anniversary of taking up employment, and scales are reviewed by the EUMETSAT Council with effect from 1 January each year. In addition to basic salary, EUMETSAT offers attractive benefits. Further information, including salary details, is available on the EUMETSAT web site.
EUMETSAT is committed to providing an equal opportunities work environment for men and women.
Please note that only nationals of EUMETSAT Member States may apply. The EUMETSAT Convention requires that Staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, account being taken of the international character of EUMETSAT.Applicants are required to disclose all nationalities they have held and currently hold in order to determine whether they can exercise the role as advertised in compliance with applicable export control regulations.
About EUMETSAT EUMETSAT is Europeโs meteorological satellite agency. Its role is to establish and operate meteorological satellites to monitor the weather and climate from space - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This information is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation's Member States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide.
EUMETSAT also operates several Copernicus missions on behalf of the European Union and provide data services to the Copernicus marine and atmospheric services and their users.
As an intergovernmental European Organisation, EUMETSAT has 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.)