Senior Product Owner – SAR

Senior Product Owner – SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Processor

Job Overview

We are recruiting an experienced Senior Product Owner for SAR Processing Systems on behalf of a leading European space and aerospace technology group in Salem, Germany. In this elite technical leadership role, you will take full ownership of the lifecycle, development, and evolution of next-generation Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processing software and data products (from Level 0 raw data up to Level 2 geophysical products). Serving as the central link between international stakeholders and agile development teams, you will oversee the technical roadmap for mission‑critical radar algorithms utilized in global Earth observation, climate monitoring, and defense satellite constellations.

Location & Work Mode

• City: Salem (Baden-Württemberg)
• Country: Germany
• Work Mode: Hybrid (Structured under a 40% home office and 60% on‑site framework).

Your Role & Responsibilities

• Product Ownership: Act as the primary technical point of contact and product champion for internal and external institutional stakeholders regarding SAR processors and output data products.
• Backlog & Team Direction: Manage, prioritize, and refine the software development backlog, translating complex radar physics requirements into actionable engineering sprints for the software team.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Synchronize mission dependencies across satellite platform, radar instrument, and ground segment engineering business units.
• Lifecycle Management: Lead software development trajectories across the entire space mission lifecycle (from initial Phase A/B conceptual design through to Phase E operational deployment).
• Scope & Risk Control: Evaluate architectural feature changes, assess their impact on project scope, budget, or timelines, and proactively mitigate software development risks.
• Milestone Reviews: Prepare, anchor, and defend technical data packages during formal space project milestone reviews.

Your Qualifications

• Education: University degree in Mathematics, Physics, Electronics, Aerospace Engineering, or a highly relevant scientific discipline.
• Agile Leadership: Proven, deep experience operating as a Product Owner managing highly complex software projects, large engineering teams, and diverse institutional stakeholders.
• Radar Expertise: Comprehensive, physics‑based knowledge of image‑generating radar technologies (reflector and/or phased array architectures) and specialized algorithm development for L0 to L2 SAR data processing .
• Space Standards: Solid familiarity working within stringent European space software engineering and quality assurance process standards, specifically ECSS-E-ST-40C and ECSS-Q-ST-80C .
• Software Competence: Strong, active programming skills in C++ are mandatory; professional knowledge of IDL and Python is considered a distinct asset.
• Security & Travel: Possession of a valid European security clearance (or complete willingness to undergo the background vetting process) and a willingness to travel for project milestones.
• Experience: At least 5 to 8+ years of professional experience in space project software engineering and technical product management.

Languages Required

• German & English: Full professional written and verbal fluency in both languages is required to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes and technical documentation.

Salary & Benefits

• Base Salary: €85,000 – €120,000 per year (competitively matched to seniority and domain expertise).
• Financial Perks: Integrated 13th-month salary structure, comprehensive group accident insurance, and a corporate pension plan.
• Health & Wellness: Active health promotion programs, including corporate health management, an EGYM Wellpass membership, and in‑company sports teams.
• Culture & Growth: Long‑term career development tracks within a high‑reliability engineering environment, supported by a highly collaborative, international workspace.