Space Weather System Engineer

Job Posting Organization:
The European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the exploration of space. Established in 1975, ESA has grown to encompass 22 member states and employs over 2,200 staff members. The agency's mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA operates across various domains, including Earth observation, human spaceflight, exploration, and telecommunications, and collaborates with numerous international partners to advance space science and technology.

Job Overview:
The Space Weather System Engineer will report to the Head of the Space Weather Office (SWO) within the Space Safety Programme Department, Directorate of Operations. The SWO is responsible for defining, architecting, and implementing the ESA space weather system and delivering corresponding services. This role involves maintaining user requirements, analyzing European space weather assets, designing system architecture, and developing software applications and ground systems. The engineer will work within a multidisciplinary project team to define and develop an integrated space weather capability for the Belgian defence sector, capturing customer needs and translating them into technical requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The duties of the Space Weather System Engineer include capturing customer and operational needs, developing system architecture, assessing existing capabilities, supporting technical trade-offs, coordinating inputs from experts and contractors, ensuring coherence between various components, preparing tender actions, contributing to risk identification, leading requirements engineering, and supporting project documentation and reviews. The engineer will also be involved in the preparation and maintenance of project documentation, reports, and review materials in compliance with ESA standards, and will support all project and Space Weather Office reviews.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a strong system engineering background, including experience with requirements engineering, functional analysis, and system architecture definition. They should have the ability to define system interfaces and operational concepts, conduct trade-off analysis, and assess technology maturity. Familiarity with ECSS engineering processes and technical reviews is essential, as is experience working in multidisciplinary teams. Knowledge of space weather phenomena, ground- and space-based observation techniques, and operational space weather services is also required. Strong communication skills and the ability to summarize complex information clearly are essential.

Educational Background:
A master's degree in engineering or a scientific discipline is required for this position. This educational background is crucial for understanding the technical aspects of space weather systems and their applications.

Experience:
Candidates should have at least 5 years of relevant professional experience in system engineering or a related field. This experience should include working on early project phases and concept development, as well as familiarity with the specific features of defence and dual-use systems.

Languages:
The working languages of ESA are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these languages is mandatory, while knowledge of another Member State language would be considered an asset.

Additional Notes:
This position is a fixed-term appointment with an initial duration of 4 years, extendable up to a maximum of 8 years based on performance and organizational needs. The recruitment will be within the advertised grade band (A2-A4), but candidates with less than four years of relevant experience may be considered for an A1 level position. Applicants must be eligible to access information subject to European or US export control regulations. The recruitment process may include selection tests and background screening. ESA is committed to diversity and inclusiveness, welcoming applications from all qualified candidates.