Harmony Lead Space Segment Engineer

 

Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands  

Description

The Harmony mission is an Earth Observation research mission selected as the 10th Earth Explorer mission and adopted for implementation at the 2022 ESA Council meeting at ministerial level. The Harmony mission is composed of two satellites orbiting in formation with one of the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites to address key scientific questions related to ocean, ice and land dynamics. Each Harmony satellite will carry, as its main instrument, a receive-only synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that will work together with Sentinel-1’s radar. Both Harmony satellites will also carry a multi-view thermal infrared instrument (TIR) to measure sea-surface temperature differences and cloud-top motion.

 

During the mission, the Harmony convoy will switch between two formation configurations to address different science goals. The mission will include the first- and fifth-year cross-track interferometric phase covering land application. In the intervening three years, the mission will be reconfigured to fly in a stereo formation over the ocean.

As part of the ESA project team, you will support and follow up the procurement and development of the Harmony space segment and some of its subsystems.

Duties

Reporting directly to the Harmony Satellite and Engineering Manager, you will be responsible for the development of the Harmony space segment and some of its sub-systems, including Avionics (On-Board Computer, Data Handling & Data Processing), Electrical (Power, harness and EMC), Software, AOCS, and finally platform and payload TT&C sub-systems.

 

Within the project guidelines and constraints defined by the Harmony Satellite and Engineering Manager, your principal tasks and responsibilities

will include:

 

• contributing to the management of the industrial activities by leading the specification, design, procurement, development and verification/acceptance of spacecraft hardware throughout the project lifetime, from ITT to flight commissioning;
• monitoring the industrial progress and design evolution at platform and equipment level, ensuring they remain consistent with the technical and programmatic requirements;
• monitoring industrial verification activities to ensure proper verification, including resolving non-conformances and supporting the assessment of deviations and waivers;
• coordinating with PA and AIT during integration and testing activities for the resolution of activity deviations;
• contributing to the autonomy and operability concept, and supporting the FDIR (fault detection, isolation and recovery) definition (when requested);
• providing regular reporting to project management, and identifying technical risk areas, proposing and monitoring mitigation measures;
• contributing to the management of the schedule, and proposing schedule risk mitigation actions;
• monitoring the industrial preparation for launch and coordinating in-flight spacecraft commissioning and verification activities in collaboration with project teams and ground teams;
• coordinating various project engineering domains to cover the procurement of the hardware under your responsibility;
• coordinating specialised engineering support from the ESA Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality in the relevant areas under your responsibility;
• coordinating closely with other project sections to ensure consistency of the space segment subsystems hardware, payload data processing equipment and software development at satellite level;
• supervising all aspects of onboard software definition, requirements, development and verification, ensuring provision for the required observability, operability and maintainability features for the System and Operation Team and including analysis of design drivers and options for cost/schedule optimisation;
• supporting the definition and implementation of the overall operational concept at mission level;
• supervising the definition and evolution of all technical budgets and satellite interfaces, ensuring coherence with the payload interfaces;
• supporting the preparation and implementation of all major Harmony reviews and reviews at space segment and subsystem level within the technical scope of the position;
• ensuring coherence between the avionics subsystem with the platform and payload database;
• managing the coordination and execution of test campaigns of the satellites’ engineering and functional model, as well as the proto flight and flight models, aligning with the System Integration and Verification Plan to ensure their timely completion for the two Harmony satellites;
• ensuring early definition and specification of EGSE/SCOE and test facilities for the subsystems within the technical scope of the position;
• managing verification information and ensuring traceability between system design and verification documentation;
• reviewing the schedule critical path, instigating timely corrective and/or recovery actions where necessary;
• supporting general project reporting tasks, such as weekly reports.

 

 

Your duties may also include supporting other activities within the Earth Observation Projects Department, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes within your field of competence.

Technical competencies General background and experience in the technical domains covered by the positionExperience in the management and monitoring of industrial activities, including procurement of Satellite equipment/sub-systems and participation in reviewsHands-on hardware experience and experience in the development and verification of space hardwareProject support experience in a relevant domainSpacecraft systems knowledgeEnvironmental testing for space hardwareBehavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

Education

A master’s in electronics, electrical engineering, networks, telecommunications or a related field is required for this post.

Additional requirements

• Project experience in complex LEO Earth observation spacecraft development, in particular in Phases B2/C/D/E1
• Experience in the procurement and development of space electronics
• Experience in AIT at system and subsystem level
• Demonstrated ability to lead industry
• Experience and understanding of safety criticality for hardware as well as software
• Demonstrated experience in leading unit failure modes and effects analyses (FMEA) and spacecraft fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR)
• Solid understanding of product assurance (including software)
• Demonstrated ability to work with external partners in a cooperative and proactive manner

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness 
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.

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 via email at contact.human.resources@esa.int.
 
Important Information and Disclaimer
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 master’s degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.

Applicants must be eligible to access technology and hardware which is subject to European and US export control regulations.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.

Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have. 

 

Nationality and Languages 
Please note that applications can only be 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*. 

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.  

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.

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