Junior Data Repositories Operations Engineer

Ready to launch your career with Europe’s meteorological satellite agency? At EUMETSAT, we go beyond monitoring weather and climate from space, we deliver critical satellite data to our member states and the European Union, supporting weather forecasts, climate services and civil protection 24/7, 365 days a year.

Working for EUMETSAT, you can make a world of difference and be a part of something that makes a positive impact on society. You will be at the cutting edge of satellite technology, with a meaningful role in an organisation focused on space-based observations of the Earth’s weather and climate. The EUMETSAT Early Careers Employment Programme (ECEP) offers opportunity for recent graduates to take that first step into an exciting career in this industry.

Within the User Support and Climate Services Division of the EUMETSAT Operations and Services to Users Department, a dynamic and dedicated team of operations engineers, archive operators and user support experts ensures the seamless operation of EUMETSAT’s online data access services and Data Archive. These services provide efficient discovery, search and on‑demand access to satellite data and products, while also guaranteeing their secure, long-term preservation.

As a junior operations engineer in this team, reporting to the Data Services and Archive Operations Team Leader, you will play an important role in maintaining the reliability and performance of these services for our global user community. You will work alongside experienced colleagues, gaining hands‑on experience with operational systems and modern data technologies. The role is expected to evolve progressively, with the successful candidate taking on increasing responsibility.

EUMETSAT is now inviting highly motivated candidates from its Member States to apply.

What you’ll be doing

• Contribute to the day‑to‑day operations of the Data Services and Archive Operations by monitoring systems, identifying anomalies or trends, and providing relevant input to colleagues to support the coordination of operations and maintenance activities with ground segment teams. Prepare and maintain clear, up‑to‑date operational procedures covering routine tasks and recovery actions, enabling first‑line support to respond consistently and effectively when unexpected events occur in systems and services.
• Learn how to analyse anomalies when unexpected events occur by following established Quality‑Assurance and incident‑management processes. Take responsibility for following all steps through to resolution and engage with users to manage expectations by providing clear, timely updates on progress and impact.
• Gain hands‑on experience with the services and systems, enabling you over time to propose efficiency improvements for operations, for example through increased automation. Participate in evolution and design discussions to better understand these challenges and contribute ideas to enhance the already established Data Services and Archive.
• Contribute to the validation testing of the Data Services and Archive Operations by supporting the execution of test cases, while progressively learning how to specify these tests and implement their automation.
• Train in DevSecOps best practices and enhanced monitoring of system metrics (e.g. CI/CD, automated testing, and the meaningful acquisition and display of system resource usage), and apply this knowledge to support software development, enable more precise troubleshooting, and drive the proactive detection of potential software design flaws.
• Support users with their enquiries and challenges, engaging with them to gain a deeper understanding of how they use EUMETSAT data and products. Draw on real‑world use cases to make informed data management decisions and use these insights to identify and propose enhancements to systems and services that deliver clear, measurable value to the user community.

What we offer

The initial contract will be under the EUMETSAT Early Career Employee Programme (ECEP), for two (2) years with grade A1 on the EUMETSAT salary scale (5,912 EUROS NET ). Subject to successful performance, a further contract of 5 years’ duration will be awarded in a post graded A2-A4. Additional contracts may be awarded thereafter, subject to individual performance and organisational requirements. In addition, the successful candidate will receive:

• Flexible working time including additional flexi‑leave;
• Full medical coverage for employee and family;
• 30 days of annual leave + 14.5 days public holidays;
• Training and development support;
• Relocation allowance and support (if applicable).

Requirements

Qualifications

• A university degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Environmental Sciences, or another relevant discipline.

Skills and Experience required

• Strong motivation to develop professionally within an international environment, with a focus on Data Services, Data Management, and Long‑Term Archive Operations.
• Openness to learning and growing expertise, alongside strong teamwork and communication skills.
• Practical work experience with some of the following topics would be advantageous:
• Experience in handling or processing Earth observation data or environmental data.
• Experience in working in an “Operations” environment i.e. monitoring key process, managing resources, dealing with unexpected events and engaging with customers.
• Experience in software engineering, ideally how to conduct the full software development life cycle.

EUMETSAT is an international organisation employing staff from across all 30 member states and this role is being advertised on multiple international job boards, but please note that this role would be based in Darmstadt, Germany and would require international applicants to relocate if successful.

EUMETSAT is committed to providing an equal opportunities work environment for men and women. Please note that only nationals of EUMETSAT Member States may apply. Work visas and / or residence permits will not qualify. The EUMETSAT Convention requires that Staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, account being taken of the international character of EUMETSAT.

More about us

EUMETSAT’s role is to establish and operate meteorological satellites to monitor the weather and climate from space - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This information is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation’s Member and Cooperating States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide.

EUMETSAT also operates several Copernicus missions on behalf of the European Union and provide data services to the Copernicus marine and atmospheric services and their users.

As an intergovernmental European Organisation, EUMETSAT can recruit nationals only from the 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom).