Lead Telecom Payload Engineer

 

Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands  ECSAT, Harwell, the United Kingdom 

Description

Lead Telecom Payload Engineer within the LEO Satellites Programme Office in the Satellite Programmes Department within the Directorate of Connectivity and Secure Communications.

As Lead Telecom Payload Engineer, you will be responsible for all payload development and procurement aspects in your assigned project.

You will be the focal point and day-to-day interface with the satellite operator and industrial prime contractor. Under the leadership and authority of management, you will be responsible for decision-making on behalf of the ESA Partnership Project, as well as for the design, development, qualification, on-ground verification and in-orbit validation of the satellite payload, ensuring overall consistency with the mission and end-to-end performance requirements and compliance with the schedule and budget.

As your first assignment, you will work on the Sunrise Partnership Project and report to the Sunrise Project Manager. Once the project has been initiated, you will also work on Direct-to-Device (D2D) Partnership Projects (ELEOSYS and SELCYE) in the same Department. 

Duties

Your tasks will include:

• leading the design, development, qualification, on-ground verification and in-orbit validation of the satellite telecom payload in partnership with the satellite operators and industrial consortium;
• contributing to contract negotiations and managing industry payload contracts, including CCNs and RFD/RFW/NCRs;
• supporting, as required, industry tailoring and leading the subsequent application of ECSS, international and industry standards;
• responsibility for the satellite payload requirements and specifications, technical budgets, design drivers, internal and external payload interfaces, satellite payload performance and operational concepts, including their consistency with the mission requirements, specifications and technical budgets;
• managing, with the satellite operator and industrial prime contractor, the payload, subsystem and equipment reviews;
• participating in all spacecraft- and mission-level reviews as lead payload representative of the ESA project;
• leading the preparation and implementation of payload-level and payload lower-level reviews in cooperation with the project team, and supporting the other project team engineers in other project lower-level reviews;
• leading a team of engineers and specialised engineering support from the Directorates of Technology, Engineering and Quality (TEC) and Operations (OPS);
• proactively monitoring the overall payload schedule, identifying risks and problem areas, providing assessments and proposing mitigation actions, both from industry and ESA;
• monitoring the completion of payload activities within the technical performance requirements, schedule and budget ;
• monitoring payload competitiveness through regular competitiveness meetings;
• supporting the Project Manager for regular technical, programmatic and financial reporting to ESA management and the Participating States;
• supporting meetings with delegations and partners as required;
• contributing to relevant communication and outreach activities;
• supporting other activities of the Department, such as the preparation of future mission opportunities, as required and relevant to your experience.

Technical competencies

Experience in telecom satellite payload design, development, verification and in-orbit validationExperience with 5G payloads for constellationsKnowledge of ESA and industrial space development, verification and quality assurance processesKnowledge of ESA or large industrial procurement processes and contract negotiationExperience with complex project risk management processes, industrial costs and schedule controlExperience with telecom satellite operators

Behavioural competencies

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

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education and professional experience

A master’s degree in a relevant domain is required for this post together with 4 years of relevant professional experience.  Alternatively, candidates with a bachelor’s degree, complemented by an additional four (4) years of relevant professional experience can be considered.

Additional requirements

• Direct experience of working with a commercial telecommunications prime contractor and/or operator would be a distinct advantage
• Experience with ESA’s Partnership Projects would be an asset
• Ability to understand and to clearly and concisely communicate complex technical issues to a team and external parties
• Experience of working in a team within a project and experience of coordinating cross-disciplinary topics

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, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. 

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 information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control.

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 are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia. 

According to the ESA Convention, staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, taking into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the 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.