The Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration Programmes (D/HRE) is a programme directorate within the ESA matrix structure. Through a partnership between humans and robots, D/HRE is dedicated to exploring destinations in space where humans are already living and working —– or will live and work in the future —– for the purpose of scientific research, economic development, international cooperation and public inspiration.
As Lead Payload Engineer, you will join the LEO Payloads Team as part of the LEO and Suborbital Utilisation team, LEO Services Group, Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration Programmes.
Reporting to the leader of the LEO Payload Team, you will be responsible for the programmatic and systems engineering activities related to the payloads under development or service implementation assigned to the section.
You will liaise closely with the industrial prime contractors, systems engineers, project scientists and various teams, including the engineering and operations team in the LEO Services Group.

Duties

You will act as Technical Officer for several payload development and service contracts, as defined by the LEO Utilisation and Suborbital Team. Your role will span the entire lifecycle of payloads, from specification and design to commissioning and in-orbit operations, ensuring technical and programmatic requirements are met.

Key responsibilities:

• Payload specification and development: lead the preparation of the statement of work for payloads, ensuring the clear definition of requirements and specifications in line with mission objectives. Establish technical and programmatic requirements from Phase A to Phase E1 based on the Activity Requirements Description of assigned payloads, in cooperation with the science and operations teams. Oversee the specification, design, procurement and verification of payload hardware and software, coordinating with internal teams and external partners. Define technical and programmatic requirements for Service Level Agreements with industry partners, ensuring end-to-end service delivery.
• Project lifecycle management: manage industrial activities during all phases of payload development, from invitation to tender through to flight commissioning, ensuring compliance with the schedule, technical requirements and budget. Ensure the smooth integration of payloads and oversee the coordination between cross-functional teams, end users and operational organisations, such as user support and operations centres (USOCs).
• Contract and risk management: define technical and programmatic requirements for Service Level Agreements with industry partners, ensuring end-to-end service delivery. Negotiate contracts and manage relationships with partners to ensure adherence to technical, budgetary and schedule requirements. Identify risks, propose mitigation measures and monitor their resolution. Organise, conduct and support project reviews at system, ground segment and payload levels, ensuring alignment with mission objectives.
• Verification and compliance: monitor the industrial progress of payload design and/or readiness, ensuring compliance with mission specifications and technical requirements. Oversee industrial verification activities and manage non-conformances, deviations and waivers. Ensure payload safety and operational readiness through proper testing and verification.
• Interface and coordination: support industrial contractors in defining and implementing functional specifications, manage payload interfaces (both external and internal), ensure safety compliance, and verify alignment with scientific requirements. Manage the coordination of internal and external payload interfaces, ensuring alignment between payload and outpost integration. Assist the LEO/ISS Utilisation and Operations Teams, including ESA, industry partners and the USOCs, in preparing for the operational phase of payloads, providing technical inputs as needed.
• Project reporting and schedule management: provide regular technical and programmatic reports to the LEO Payload Team Leader, highlighting risk areas and proposing corrective actions. Manage the project schedule, identify potential delays and propose schedule risk mitigation actions.
• Collaboration and team leadership: coordinate with the ESA Technology, Engineering and Quality and Operations Directorates, ensuring the provision of specialised engineering support as needed. Provide support for other LEO Payloads Team activities as required, based on your expertise and professional experience.
• Innovation and feasibility: contribute to early feasibility assessments of potential payloads, including innovative systems such as free-flyers and commercial LEO destinations, by providing technical insights and evaluations.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education and professional experience

A master's degree in a relevant domain is required for this post together with four years of relevant professional experience.

Additional requirements

• Thorough knowledge of the ISS programmatic and technical environment and experience with ESA procurement and industry/supplier management would be a strong asset;
• You should demonstrate experience in the management and delivery of aerospace or similarly complex projects within budget and schedule;
• You are expected to demonstrate excellent technical and system-level coordination skills, and the ability to sum up complex technical and programmatic information;
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively in a diverse team environment;
• Proactive attitude to solving problems and achieving solutions in line with team objectives and customer needs;
• Good communication skills, both verbal and written;
• Interest in innovative technologies;
• Vision for improving the overall efficiency of the development process and service implementation;
• Industrial experience in LEO payload development for crewed missions would be considered a strong asset.