Flight Software Engineer (3 Positions)

This vacancy is published to recruit for either: an appointment of 4 years, extendable to an indefinite duration; or a fixed-term appointment with an initial duration of 4 years that depending on performance and organisational needs, may be extended up to a maximum total duration of 8 years.

Flight Software Engineer (3 Positions)

Description

This post forms part of the Flight Software Section, which provides expert technical support for flight software development and functional verification and validation for all ESA missions across all directorates: Science, Human and Robotic Exploration, Earth Observation, Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity, Space Transportation, Technology, Engineering and Quality, and Operations, including Space Safety.

The Section has contributed to the success of ESA missions such as Rosetta, Galileo, Huygens, Juice, Hera, Copernicus, ISS Columbus, meteorological missions and many others.

The Section is also responsible for defining, initiating and managing technology research and development (R&D) activities in its field of expertise to ensure that future missions are using state-of-the-art technologies in an efficient manner to guarantee the quality necessary for space systems and to enable increased functionality in a properly verified manner. In this context, it covers a range of subjects, such as software verification and validation methods and processes, modern software architectures and frameworks, new-generation processors and multicores, model-based engineering and AI used for software verification and validation as well as on board.

The Section also participates actively in standardisation activities by influencing the evolution of various applicable standards and by ensuring their proper application in ESA projects.

Duties

As a Flight Software Engineer, you will participate in the specification, design, development, verification and validation of real-time embedded software on board ESA spacecraft. You will support one or more ESA programmes, from their definition phase until launch, by monitoring relevant industrial activities. You will also define and implement R&D activities.

Project support:

• Providing specialist technical support for real-time embedded software systems, including flight software and corresponding development and validation facilities;
• Performing technical monitoring of industrial activities linked to flight software development, including independent verification of industrial outputs, reviews and acceptance;
• Monitoring various functional verification and validation activities at spacecraft, subsystem and unit levels;
• Providing technical expertise in software system-related activities;
• Participating in the evaluation of industrial proposals and in project reviews.

Technology activities:

• Defining and implementing technology activities within the Section’s competence, in particular concerning software architectures, software ecosystems, verification and validation, and modern engineering methods and tools to improve development and verification processes for embedded software;
• Contributing to the dissemination of the results of activities performed and knowledge transfer across the Agency.

Standardisation activities:

• Contributing, as a technical expert, to standardisation activities in the software systems domain.

Technical competencies

• Experience in real-time embedded software
• Knowledge of all phases of the software development life cycle
• Experience in software development projects
• Experience in functional verification and validation activities
• Spacecraft systems knowledge
• Experience with space engineering standards and their implementation
• Experience in the management and monitoring of industrial activities, including participation in reviews (asset)

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

A master’s degree in computer science, electronics engineering, telecommunications or a related discipline is required for this post.

Additional requirements

• Strong experience in real-time embedded software on space-qualified hardware, for example SPARC LEON processors such as GR712RC, GR740 and GR765, ARM, RISC-V, multicore platforms, IMA/TSP, and RTOS such as RTEMS and VxWorks.
• Strong knowledge of multicore architectures and their use in spacecraft flight software, including various multicore architectures, multicore support by RTOS, advanced partitioning, software scheduling and schedulability analysis methods.
• Knowledge of all phases of the software development life cycle, such as requirements engineering, design, coding, V&V, functional validation at system level, support to operations and agile methodologies.
• Strong experience in software development projects, including C/C++, Ada and assembly programming languages, as well as software development environments, software verification and validation facilities and test benches, OBC emulators, simulators and ground support equipment.
• Proven experience in functional verification and validation activities, for example the specification and development of test means and simulation models, the definition of test plans, test specifications and test procedures, functional validations performed on avionics and/or instrument test benches, and support to system validation test campaigns.
• Spacecraft systems knowledge and experience with software development for spacecraft platforms and/or payloads, such as avionics subsystems and integrated flight hardware.
• Proven experience in the management and monitoring of industrial activities, such as the elaboration of statements of work and user specifications, proposal evaluation, supplier interactions, monitoring of progress and quality, and acceptance.
• A good understanding of modern software engineering methods and tools, R&D trends and the industrial landscape, including verification and validation methods and tools, code generation tools, model-based system and software engineering and agile development approaches.
• Proven experience with space software engineering standards and their application, or equivalent standards in other domains; experience with specific standards and guidelines, such as ECSS-E-ST-40C, ECSS-Q-ST-80C, ISVV guide, ECSS-E-ST-70-41C, ECSS-E-ST-10C, ECSS handbooks and SAVOIR specifications, is an additional asset.

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 and sanctions regulations and eligible to acquire the security clearance by their national security administrations.
• Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

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, 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.