VN 25/61 Ground Stations Operations Engineer

EUMETSAT operates a growing fleet of Earth Observation satellites in Low Earth and Geostationary orbits (currently comprising EUMETSAT Meteosat Second and Third Generation and Metop First and Second Generation satellites, Copernicus Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-6 satellites). In parallel, EUMETSAT is working towards the launch of a number of future missions, including the EUMETSAT Polar System – Sterna (EPS-Sterna). This is a new constellation of microsatellites that will each carry a state-of-the-art microwave sounder. The initial constellation is composed of 6 satellites in sun-synchronous orbit.

Within the Real-Time Services and System Operations (RSO) Division, Ground Stations Operations Engineer will be responsible of the ground stations operations preparation activities for future programmes, ground station services procurements and will support the evolutions of the EUMETSAT Ground Stations. The post holder will also coordinate routine and special operations of EUMETSAT Ground Stations and outsourced ground station services.

• Coordination of the operations of EUMETSAT’s operational ground stations and externally provided ground station services;
• Implement arrangements and coordinate with the EUMETSAT teams providing expert engineering support for ground stations maintenance, based on Service Level Agreements;
• Interface and coordinate activities with external service providers and partners;
• Analysis of Ground Stations and external ground station services anomalies and coordination of their resolution;
• Analysis of ground stations operations and performance, proposing evolutions where applicable;

• Validation of Ground Stations systems upgrades and evolutions and management of small evolution projects;
• Support the procurement of the ground stations and other related systems and tools;
• Support and/or lead the procurement of ground stations service contracts;
• Support the transition into operations of ground station systems and services, for future satellite systems;
• Coordination of the production/validation of operational procedures and training of the operations teams.

• Experience of complex ground stations systems operations in a 24/7 real-time spacecraft operations environment, preferably in Earth Observation, is required;
• Experience in complex ground station system engineering, including validation of ground stations and/or ground station services is required;
• Experience in procurements of ground station services is required;
• Experience of team coordination and project management is required;
• Experience in operations preparation activities is required, additional experience in the transition to operations of ground stations (and/or ground station services) for new satellite systems would be an advantage;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with proven ability to apply these to interactions within a team and between teams is required;
• Experience in procurement of maintenance and site support services would be an advantage;
• Experience supporting in Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) operations from ground stations would be considered an advantage.