Junior Professional in Resilient and Secure Ground Operations Services

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Junior Professional in Resilient and Secure Ground Operations Services

Job Requisition ID: 20692

Closing Date: 28 July :59 CET/CEST

This post is part of ESA’s Junior Professional Programme. We are looking for enthusiastic candidates with up to 3 years of relevant professional experience after their Master's degree to join ESA for a four-year assignment. During this time, you will be actively working and learning on the job and will benefit from valuable mobility and developmental opportunities that will prepare you for a successful career at ESA. Subject to performance, it is therefore the intention to offer you an indefinite contract which will start at the end of the four years.

Recruitment will take place at the A1 grade on the Coordinated Organisations’ salary scale. At the end of the fourth year and if you are offered an indefinite contract at the end of your Junior Professional assignment, you will be upgraded to the A2 grade.

Location

ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany

Developmental assignments form an integral part of the Junior Professional Programme and may entail a temporary relocation to another ESA establishment or other location.

Description

Junior Professional in Resilient and Secure Ground Operations Services. If selected for this position, you will report to the Head of the Mission Operations IT (MOI‑IT) and Operations Control Centre (OCC) Section in the Ground Facilities Operations Division, Mission Operations Department, Directorate of Operations.

The unit is responsible for the coordination and end‑to‑end provision of services and facilities to all users of the mission operations infrastructure, which consists of the following elements that support routine spacecraft operations and launches:

• The Operations Control Centre deployed at ESOC and in the ESA network of ground stations, such as data centres, or dedicated and main control rooms;
• Mission Operations Infrastructure IT services and facilities, such as managed IT services, cybersecurity operations, local and wide area networks, or platform services.

You will work under the functional guidance of senior staff responsible for cybersecurity, operations resilience, and satellite telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) services. In the context of system accreditation and system certification, you will interface with the ESA Security Office, as required.

Within the context of ESA’s ESTRACK TT&C services to third‑party customers and partners, you will help improve the dependability and resilience of ground operations services by applying methods drawn from the complementary fields of site‑reliability engineering (SRE) and cybersecurity. In doing so, you will support ESA’s ability to continue service delivery in the presence of disruptions and to reduce recovery times following operational incidents.

As a Junior Professional, you will support this transformation by promoting SRE and cyber security best practices across the ground operations environments, while gaining hands‑on experience in operational contexts and working closely with experienced engineers and stakeholders.

Duties

During your first year, you will work closely with experienced engineers to enhance the resilience and cybersecurity of TT&C services delivered by ESA to external entities, both commercial and institutional.

By the end of the first year, you will be expected to:

• analyse aspects of solution architecture and operational behaviour of the selected services, identifying cybersecurity and resilience risks based on a systematic assessment of cyber threats and potential systemic failures;
• contribute to the refinement of service reliability and cybersecurity objectives, availability expectations and recovery targets appropriate for mission operations;
• propose candidate enhancements to the target architecture to strengthen the overall security and reliability posture, such as applying automation‑based solutions to replace repetitive manual activities, including system provisioning, configuration enforcement or operating system upgrades;
• support improved observability and recoverability by refining procedures with the Cybersecurity Operations Centre at ESOC, including monitoring of signals, recovery workflows and rollback mechanisms;
• support controlled security and reliability testing, such as safe disruption or incident simulations in non‑operational environments, to validate assumptions and improve recovery readiness;
• produce and maintain integrated, version‑controlled documentation that accurately reflects the design, operation and recovery processes of the services.

Clear goals, success criteria and milestones for this first‑year assignment will be defined prior to your start, ensuring a structured and successful introduction to the role.

In addition to your daily work, you will take part in an extensive learning and development programme. From day one, you will learn on the job and benefit from tailored development opportunities, including participation in technical and key skills training courses.

Furthermore, there is a mobility component to the Junior Professional Programme that can be either an internal rotation to another team within ESA, an external secondment outside of ESA or a combination of both. Internal rotations aim to boost your professional experience and knowledge of the European Space Agency, whereas external secondments aim to boost your professional experience and knowledge of the European space sector.

Given ESA’s diverse activities, you will find many opportunities for internal rotation. You may venture into observing flight operations, cybersecurity, space safety, participating in technology study programmes, or decide to apply your skills to another IT or OT system at ESA (such as antenna stations).

You will also experience the excitement of working with mission control teams in the preparation of the ground infrastructure for a satellite launch, by supporting the Ground Operations Manager or the MOI‑IT/OCC Team.

This programme represents a significant investment by ESA in your personal and professional development and is designed to provide you with the required knowledge and skills for a career at ESA. You can expect to be given many opportunities to develop your professional experience and competencies, to learn from ESA experts and to contribute to ESA activities.

Foundational Knowledge

• Foundational knowledge of, or a strong interest in service reliability, availability, recovery
• Foundational knowledge of, or a strong interest in cybersecurity principles in operational contexts
• Foundational knowledge of, or a strong interest in monitoring, observability, incident analysis
• Foundational knowledge of, or a strong interest in automation and configuration management
• Foundational knowledge of, or a strong interest in Linux systems
• Foundational knowledge of, or a strong interest in satellite ground segment architecture
• Foundational knowledge of, or a strong interest in TT&C services and standards
• Foundational knowledge of, or a strong interest in open‑source tooling

Values

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

A master’s degree in engineering or computer science (e.g. computer science, software engineering, systems engineering, information technology, cybersecurity or another closely related discipline) is required for this post with up to three years of professional experience.

Additional Requirements

Competencies and several years of working experience in a subset of the following areas would be an asset.

• Early professional or academic experience in operations, cybersecurity, DevOps or reliability oriented engineering roles
• Interest in applying software engineering methods to operational and infrastructure problems
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment, independently and as part of a team
• Very good command of English, with the ability to produce clear and concise technical documentation.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

At the Agency we value diversity, and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us via email at

Important Information and Disclaimer

Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality and Languages

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

According to the ESA Convention, staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, taking into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the Member States.

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.