Job Description

Telespazio Belgium can count on almost 40 years of experience in the field of Space Operations Service & Engineering activities.

We provide a significant contribution to the most major Space programs of the European Space Agency. Our core business is to work on the ground to build bridges into space, contributing to the success of ambitious missions.

The European Space Agency is our biggest client and we provide highly qualified employees to many sites of ESA but mainly for ESTEC in the Netherlands, and we provide a permanent contract with great benefits, a good salary, a relocation package along with genuine support to our employees.

On behalf of the European Space Agency, we are looking for a highly skilled Project Management and Engineering Specialist for Orbital projects to work in ESTEC, in the Netherlands.

Candidates must be eligible for a security personal clearance from an EU Member State national security administration

What is expected from you:

• Coordinate the end-to-end implementation of ESA Academy orbital projects (e.g. Fly Your Satellite!, Design Booster, Test Opportunities, ISS and Space Rider experiments), from call preparation and team selection through development, testing and operations;
• Support university teams throughout the project lifecycle, providing guidance on project management, system engineering, requirements management, risk management and mission planning activities;
• Monitor the technical, managerial and programmatic progress of participating teams and coordinate the resolution of technical and project-related issues with ESA experts and external partners;
• Organise and support project reviews, workshops, training events, test campaigns, launch preparation activities and operational milestones, including Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), Critical Design Reviews (CDR) and Flight Acceptance Reviews (FAR);
• Review and assess technical documentation, requirements, design data packages, verification and test documentation, ensuring compliance with applicable standards and good engineering practice;
• Coordinate mentorship activities involving ESA specialists, industry experts, academic partners and participating student teams;
• Develop and deliver training activities related to spacecraft development, systems engineering, project management, testing and mission operations, and contribute to ESA Academy educational programmes;
• Support the management of programme applications, participant engagement, digital learning content, databases, statistics and reporting activities using ESA tools, including ESA Learn;
• Liaise with universities, industry, research organisations and ESA stakeholders to foster collaboration, identify new opportunities and support the continuous evolution of the programme portfolio;
• Contribute to outreach, communication and community-building activities, including educational events, technical presentations, promotional materials and alumni engagement initiatives.

What you offer :

• Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Space Engineering, Physics, or another relevant engineering or scientific discipline;
• Minimum 4 years of relevant professional experience, including spacecraft engineering, space projects, systems engineering, payload development, CubeSats, aerospace projects or other complex technical programmes;
• Minimum 2 years of project management and team coordination experience in relevant domains for this role;
• Demonstrated experience in technical project management covering planning, schedule management, risk management, stakeholder coordination and project reporting;
• Direct experience managing technical projects across design, development, testing and operational phases;
• Practical experience in the development, testing, operation or management of at least one CubeSat, nanosatellite, space experiment, scientific payload or equivalent aerospace project;
• Demonstrated experience supporting projects through one or more spacecraft lifecycle phases, including design, verification, testing, integration and operations;
• Direct experience supporting or supervising student engineering activities, university projects, educational programmes or hands-on engineering training initiatives;
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams and engaging with technical experts, academic institutions, industrial partners and programme stakeholders;
• Knowledge of systems engineering principles, requirements management and technical review processes;
• Experience preparing and reviewing technical documentation, engineering reports, test documentation and project deliverables;
• Ability to deliver technical training, workshops, mentoring sessions or educational activities in engineering-related subjects;
• Familiarity with laboratory or test environments and associated safety and operational practices;
• Direct experience in mission engineering and Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) activities;
• Direct experience coordinating test campaigns and launch preparation activities;
• Previous experience working with ESA, national space agencies, research institutions or the European space industry is considered an asset;
• Familiarity with ESA Academy programmes, Fly Your Satellite!, CubeSat Support Facility activities, ISS educational programmes or Space Rider initiatives is considered an asset;
• Experience supporting launch campaigns, spacecraft operations or mission preparation activities is considered an asset;
• Knowledge of ECSS standards and space project reviews is considered an asset;
• Experience in outreach, mentoring and STEM education initiatives is considered an asset;
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially PowerPoint, Excel and Word;
• Strong analytical, organisational and problem-solving skills;
• Ability to work both independently and within multidisciplinary and international teams;
• Candidates must be eligible to work and live in the EU;
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

What we offer:

• A competitive salary
• 30 days of paid annual leave, plus the days ESTEC is closed including public holidays (~12 days) based on a 40-hour working week;
• Hybrid working scheme (3 days in the office and 2 days remote in the Netherlands)
• Flexible working hours; you are in charge of your own agenda respecting core working hours
• Fully paid collective extensive health insurance scheme;
• A good pension scheme with no personal contribution;
• A career development (Coursera membership + training budget);
• Travel allowance;
• Extensive relocation package

Where:

You will be working within ESTEC, the European Space Agency’s offices in the Netherlands as a contractor for Telespazio Belgium. We don’t expect the employees to be on-site full time however you will still have to relocate to the Netherlands for this position.

Check out the ESTEC site here: esa.int/About_Us/ESTEC

When:

Deadline to apply: ASAP

We look forward to receiving your application for this position