Science Operations Scientist (Villanueva de la Cañada, ES)
Ente: ESA - European Space Agency
Paese: INTL
Descrizione
Select how often (in days) to receive an alert: Create Alert Apply now » Science Operations Scientist Job Requisition ID: 20826 Date Posted: 3 September 2026 Closing Date: 24 September 2026 23:59 CET/CEST Publication: Internal & External Type of Appointment : 4 years, extendable to indefinite Directorate: Science Workplace: Villanueva de la Cañada, ES Grade Band : A2 - A4 Location ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain Description The European Space Agency maintains a world-leading Science Programme with missions in heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics and fundamental physics. Its mission is to empower Europe to lead space science. The Science Operations Department (SCI-S) within ESA’s Directorate of Science hosts the scientists and engineers that oversee the space missions from the study phase to the end of operations. It develops the science operation systems for the missions and operates the missions in space, as well as archiving and curating their data during operations and beyond. Its main objective is to maximise the scientific output of the missions for the benefit of humankind. You will be assigned as Science Operations Scientist, initially for the Arrakihs mission under the direct responsibility of the Science Operations Development Manager for Arrakihs in the Science Operations Development Division. Arrakihs is a “Fast” (F-class) mission in ESA’s Science Programme. Its primary objective is to image the halos of galaxies in our nearby Universe to unprecedented low surface brightness, providing crucial data to answer unsolved questions in cosmology and galaxy evolution. Arrakihs is targeted for launch in the early 2030s. Duties You will be responsible for various aspects of the definition, implementation and testing of science operations activities for the Arrakihs mission, working in close collaboration with the Project Scientist, the Archive Scientist and the Science Operations Centre (SOC) Team and interfacing with the Instrument Operations and Science Data Centre (IOSDC) Team from the Arrakihs mission consortium. During the development phase of the mission, your tasks and responsibilities will include: acting as an interface between the Science Operations Centre, the Payload Team, the Flight Control Team and the Instrument Operations and Science Data Centre Team for the Arrakihs mission; contributing to the overall ground segment operations definition, design and implementation; coordinating and supporting the definition, development and testing of processes and tools for science mission planning activities; providing support to the definition and validation of the instrument’s data products, as well as to the establishment of validation criteria and the development, implementation and testing of tools for their quality assessment in coordination with the Archive Scientist, the Project Scientist and the IOSDC Team; acting as a product owner in the context of an Agile development strategy for the SOC system by providing the feedback, value and user acceptance testing for the various science operations functionalities; supporting the Project Scientist and Science Operations Development Manager in analysing the impact of mission baseline changes, relating to operational rules and constraints, for example, on the scientific outcome of the mission; supporting validation activities and all relevant compatibility, interfaces and end-to-end tests in preparation for the operation phase; supporting the definition, preparation and execution of activities relating to the commissioning and science performance demonstration phases; supporting the SOC interaction with the astronomical community in preparation for the Arrakihs filler programme, including the coordination of inputs and provision of relevant scientific and operational information; supporting outreach activities promoting the Arrakihs mission and its science. In addition to the above duties, you are expected to continue to carry out research and actively contribute to the scientific activities of the Department. It is expected that the position will also involve support to other survey missions in development within the Division, for example the Ariel mission, which will study the atmosphere of exoplanets through spectroscopic observations during transits and eclipses. Technical competencies Experience in defining, setting up and/or operating scientific experiments for astrophysics research either in space or ground-based facilities Experience in coordinating internal/external stakeholders on scientific projects Active researcher in a relevant field to the Arrakihs mission Knowledge of scientific instruments performance and calibration specification and analysis 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 PhD in
Settori: Space / Engineering / Science
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