Product Assurance and Safety Manager

Product Assurance and Safety Manager

As a Product Assurance and Safety Manager, you will be assigned to the Product Assurance (PA) Management Section, Quality and PA Management Division, Quality Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.

The Section provides functional support to ESA projects in different programme directorates, as well as to technology development activities, and is responsible for the development, implementation, and maintenance of Product Assurance and Safety engineering and management programmes. It carries out technological research (R&D) in PA&S management, techniques, methodologies, and tools. It collaborates on standardisation and training activities.

You will manage the Product Assurance and Safety aspects for exploration payloads in the Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration Programmes. You will also report to the Utilisation Team Leaders of the Low Earth Orbit, Lunar and Martian Exploration Groups and to the Human and Robotic Exploration PA&S Team Leader for specific responsibilities and duties.

PA&S covers safety assurance, reliability, availability, maintainability, quality assurance, components, materials, processes, planetary protection, and software product assurance.

Duties

Your main tasks and responsibilities will include:

• Establishing and maintaining the relevant PA&S requirements baseline in compliance with ESA policies.
• Ensuring the implementation of the PA&S requirements by payload developers, supporting milestone reviews, and participating in the process to verify compliance with requirements.
• Monitoring the implementation of approved payload developers’ plans and specifications, ensuring adequate resources are deployed for the execution of the PA&S programme.
• Planning, coordinating, and monitoring the assigned PA&S workforce providing support.
• Participating in boards for the disposition of deviations from the requirements baseline and changes to the agreed design.
• Representing ESA in boards for non-conformances, anomalies, corrective and preventive actions (NRB), failure investigations, and project technical reviews such as MRR, TRR, PTR, and TRB.
• Ensuring the implementation of the Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) programme and the Software Assurance programme.
• Monitoring the selection, procurement, and use of electrical, electronic and electromechanical (EEE) components and materials, processes and mechanical (MPM) parts.
• Ensuring the monitoring of the manufacturing, assembly, integration, and test activities through mandatory and key inspection points, test witnessing, and quality assurance checks.
• Conducting the acceptance reviews of all contractual deliverable items.
• Reviewing the safety data packages from payload developers and supporting safety reviews for flight, ground, and launch safety.
• Supervising PA&S activities during the launch campaign.
• Performing any other PA&S tasks necessary to ensure a safe and successful mission.

In carrying out these tasks, you will receive support from experts from the project team and from the ESA Directorate of Technology, Engineering, and Quality.

Technical Competencies

Experience in the management of Product Assurance for a space project.

Good knowledge of human spaceflight safety certification, software and RAMS engineering techniques, and in the areas of PMP and EEE.

Experience in the management and monitoring of industrial activities, including participation in audits and reviews.

Experience with Space Quality Standards and their implementation.

Experience with the application of product assurance tools and methods.

Behavioural Competencies

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

Education

A master’s degree in a relevant engineering or scientific discipline is required for this post.

Additional Requirements

Proven experience in the area of payload development and systems engineering is required. In addition, you should have:

• Proven experience of teamwork within a project.
• The ability to coordinate people without direct authority.
• The ability to drive performance and foster cooperation within and across teams throughout the organisation.
• Demonstrated relationship management and oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent cognitive, analytical, delegation, planning, and organisational skills.
• The ability to anticipate problems, resolve complex issues, and relate situations to their context.
• The ability to make solution-oriented, pragmatic, and timely decisions of a high standard and integrity, and to support others in this process.

Previous experience working with international partners, such as other space agencies, is an advantage.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We 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 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 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 and security clearance by their national security administrations.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, 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 have.

Nationality and Languages

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, 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.