Lead Telecom Payload Engineer

Within the LEO Satellites Programme Office in the Satellite Programmes Department of the Directorate of Connectivity and Secure Communications, you will serve as Lead Telecom Payload Engineer.

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.

Description

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 validation
• Experience with 5G payloads for constellations
• Knowledge of ESA and industrial space development, verification and quality assurance processes
• Knowledge of ESA or large industrial procurement processes and contract negotiation
• Experience with complex project risk management processes, industrial costs and schedule control
• Experience with telecom satellite operators

Behavioural competencies

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

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
• Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control
• 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, 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.