Job Description
Vacancy in the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.
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 Organisations’ salary scale.
Location
ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain
Description
The European Space Agency maintains a world-leading Science Programme with missions in heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics and fundamental physics. Its mission is to ‘Empower Europe to lead space science’. The Department of Science Operations (SCI-S), within ESA’s Directorate for Science, host the scientists and engineers that oversee the space missions from study to end of operations; it develops the science operation systems for the missions and operates the missions in space; it archives and curates their data during operations and beyond. Our main objective is to maximise the scientific output of the missions for the benefit of humankind.
The development, maintenance and operations of the science operations centres, archives and data science systems requires strict product assurance coordination. You will be assigned as Product Assurance & Safety (PA&S) Coordinator to the Science Operations Department (SCI-S), Directorate of Science – as integrated support from the Software Product Assurance Section in the Product Assurance and Safety Department of the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.
As PA&S Coordinator, you will report hierarchically to the Head of Science Operations Department (SCI-S). You will provide Product Assurance and Safety (PA&S) support to projects in the Science Operations Department and will oversee the product assurance provided by companies providing services to the department.
For the maintenance of professional standards, for the implementation of the ESA general Product Assurance and Safety (PA&S) policy and for contributions to corporate tasks (e.g. reviews, standardization, alerts, lessons learned, etc.), you will report to the Head of the Product Assurance & Safety Department (TEC-Q), through the Head of the Science Product Assurance & Safety Office (SCI-PQ).
Duties
Specific responsibilities and duties of this post include:
- establishing and maintaining with the managers the PA&S requirements baseline for all projects in the Science Operations Department, in compliance with the ESA general PA&S policy;
- reviewing the service companies’ plans, specifications and effort proposed for the execution of their PA&S programmes; guiding and monitoring the corresponding implementation of the latter;
- monitoring the development, integration and test activities within ESA and the service companies, with quality assurance audits, key inspection points, test witnessing and configuration inspections;
- leading the implementation and maintenance of the SCI-S Lessons Learned process;
- supporting to the software licensing activities in the department as member of the software licensing board;
- representing ESA PA&S in the boards established within the projects dealing with Non-conformances/Anomalies, Failure Reviews, Test Reviews, etc.;
- acting as technical responsible for the PA&S service contract providing support to overall transversal activities needed in the Science Operations Department.
In the execution of these tasks, you will be supported by subject matter experts from the Science Operations Department and the ESA Directorate of Technical and Quality Management.
In addition to the above responsibilities, you will support as necessary the Science PA&S Office (SCI-PQ) for the Directorate of Science’s improvement activities and cross-project coordination, and lay the groundwork for the PA&S requirements of future Science projects.
Technical competencies
- Good knowledge of Product Assurance & Safety Disciplines
- Experience in the management and monitoring of industrial activities, including participation in reviews
- Project support experience in domains falling under PA&S
- Understanding of the technical aspects of complex software and IT systems
Behavioural competencies
- Result Orientation
- Operational Efficiency
- Fostering Cooperation
- Relationship Management
- Continuous Improvement
- Forward Thinking
Education
A master’s degree in engineering is required for this post.
Additional requirements
Proven experience in product assurance and safety support for projects is required, including in coordinating experts from different PA&S disciplines;
An understanding of Space Science Operations would be an asset;
In addition, you will be expected to be:
- proactive in helping service companies to establish appropriate PA&S practices;
- willing to work in full coordination with the project engineering team, for example in defining solutions that are acceptable from a quality perspective and compatible with the project and programmatic constraints;
- capable of managing complex decision-making processes in a fact-based manner while coping with the pressure of dealing with parties holding conflicting positions;
- motivated to deepen your understanding of technical aspects outside the scope of PA&S disciplines.
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.
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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 Agency’s 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 master’s degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.
*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.
