VEGA and Space Rider Mechanical, Thermal, and Pyro Lead Engineer

Description

Vega and Space Rider Mechanical, Thermal, and Pyrotechnics Lead Engineer, in the Flight Programme Department, Directorate of Space Transportation.

Under the hierarchical authority of the Vega and Space Rider Launch System and Engineering Manager, you will have end to end responsibility for all engineering activities within the mechanical, pyrotechnics and thermal domains across the programmes managed by the Vega and Space Rider Integrated Project Team (IPT).

Your primary duties will include the definition, maintenance and control of technical requirements within the relevant qualification domains, under the functional authority of the relevant programme managers, the management of the design, procurement, development, validation and recurrent manufacturing of subsystem components in the domains of responsibility throughout the entire project lifecycle, with specific emphasis on the Vega C exploitation phase, ensuring planning, costs and risks control for the product managed under direct responsibility, coordinating the mechanical, pyrotechnic and thermal AIT/AIV activities at both system and subsystem levels as well as the provision of expert support in the domains of ground testing and launch campaign preparation, with particular relevance to the Spacecraft Combined Operations Phase for both institutional and commercial missions.

In this role, you will ensure technical coherence, compliance with applicable standards, and effective coordination of engineering activities across the assigned domains in support of the Vega and Space Rider programmes.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• acting as Product Manager for activities related to the design, development, qualification, assembly, integration, testing, flight acceptance and post flight analyses of new developments, with particular attention to their impact on the qualified perimeter in a commercial exploitation context and particular focus on planning, costs and risks;
• monitoring the manufacture and acceptance of Vega C/E elements under the relevant domain, ensuring compliance of the mission specific configurations with the applicable qualified product perimeter;
• performing and/or supervising mechanical and structural, and thermal as required to support subsystem development and recurrent production activities;
• providing technical expertise for the management and resolution of flight and ground anomalies and non conformances, including the assessment of waiver and deviation requests with respect to their impact on the qualified perimeter;
• analysing all change requests within the assigned domain of responsibility, assessing their impact on the qualified perimeter at product, subsystem and system levels;
• following and coordinating technical activities addressing critical components and materials obsolescence, with particular focus on their potential impact on qualification status and operational continuity;
• contributing to the team’s analytical simulation capabilities through the development, evolution and application of numerical simulation tools to support feasibility and compatibility studies, as well as pre flight and post flight exploitation analyses, within the assigned perimeter of responsibility;
• participating in, and where appropriate leading, major Vega C/E Launch System reviews within the relevant domain of competence;
• contributing, in support of the Vega and Space Rider Programme Divisions, to the preparation of statements of work, the evaluation of industrial proposals, the negotiation of industrial contracts, the assessment of industry deliverables, and the implementation of key project milestones, including system and subsystem level reviews within the assigned technical perimeter.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

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

Education and professional experience

A master's degree in a relevant engineering field is required for this post together with 10 years of relevant professional experience.

Additional requirements

• Demonstrated experience in European launch systems, including in depth familiarity with the Vega family and/or comparable European space transportation programmes, with particular focus on payload accommodation and the control of environmental conditions during ground and flight operations;
• Proven capability in the use of engineering and analysis tools relevant to space transportation systems, including system modelling and simulation, time and frequency domain performance analyses, finite element methods (FEM), and data acquisition and post processing tools; experience with Matlab/Simulink, CAD environments and equivalent specialised software is required;
• Sound knowledge of applicable standards and processes, including ECSS standards, launcher specific qualification and acceptance processes, product assurance, and safety requirements, including those related to pyrotechnic systems;
• Experience in an operational context, including support to launch campaigns, on site activities, and interaction with AIT/AIV teams and industrial partners under schedule driven and high reliability conditions;
• Ability to operate in a multinational and industrial environment, including effective technical communication with industry, programme teams and stakeholders, and contribution to contract execution and technical governance activities;
• Availability for frequent travel and on site presence at industrial facilities and launch sites, as required by programme needs.