Head of the RF Payload Engineering and Digital Equipment Section

Job Requisition ID: 18942

Date Posted: 18 October 2024

Application Deadline: 8 November 2024 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication: Internal & External

Type of Contract: Permanent

Directorate: Technology, Engineering and Quality

Workplace: Noordwijk, NL

Grade Band: A2 - A4

Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Description
Head of the Radio Frequency Payload Engineering and Digital Equipment Section in the Radio Frequency Payloads and Technology Division, Electrical Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.

Reporting to the Head of the Radio Frequency Payloads and Technology Division, you, as Head of the Radio Frequency Payload Engineering and Digital Equipment Section, will be responsible for the management of the Section, its resources and activities. In addition, you will be accountable within the Agency for the outcome of the operational activities within the Section’s technical domains.

The Section covers the specification, design, development and verification/testing of:

• telecommunication payloads and subsystems, microwave and millimetre wave remote sensing instruments, and navigation payloads exploiting analogue, digital and optical onboard technologies;
• telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) subsystems, payload data transmission (PDT) subsystems including deep space and near Earth transponders, proximity and intersatellite (ISL) link equipment, high speed downlink modulators and digital communication equipment;
• radio frequency digital equipment for telecommunication/navigation payloads, radio frequency/microwave and millimetre wave remote sensing instruments and radio frequency subsystems (e.g. TT&C, PDT and ISL), as well as payload signal and data processing techniques.

Duties
Within the technical domains defined above, your tasks and responsibilities will include:

Workload assessment and assignment:

• Managing the workforce of the Section, and distributing and assigning the activities of the Section to its members;
• Establishing the Section’s multi-year plan of activities, covering required competences and assignment of resources;
• Establishing annual objectives and managing and coordinating, on a day-to-day basis, the specialised technical support in the Section’s fields of expertise in full collaboration with the functional managers;
• Actively contributing to the Section’s required agility and flexibility to meet the short-notice and peak-period resource needs of projects;
• Being accountable for all activities and resources delegated to the Section, and for resolving possible conflicting demands on the use of the Section’s resources.

Talent management:

• Maintaining state-of-the-art expertise in the Section, identifying, developing, maintaining and tracking the technical competences required to meet current and future strategic needs;
• Establishing individual talent management (competence and development) plans for the Section’s members, covering technical and behavioural aspects, in collaboration with functional managers whenever needed;
• Driving the development of people within your area of responsibility, and facilitating the development of people beyond your area of responsibility;
• Encouraging the integration of newcomers and contributing to their initial development plans;
• Managing the functional mobility of staff and staff changes.

Performance management:

• Monitoring, measuring and reporting on performance at individual and team level, in particular regarding the Section objectives;
• Being accountable to the hierarchy for all daily matters within the Section and for achieving the Section’s objectives;
• Being accountable for Section members' career management, for performing individual performance assessment and merit recognition exercises, and for providing regular feedback.

Expertise provision and tools/processes/working method management:

• Ensuring regular interaction between the Section members, striving for teamwork, the exchange of experience and lessons learned, and gathering feedback;
• Contributing to the continuous improvement of working procedures, tools, processes, expert working methods and delivery methods, such as lessons learned and knowledge management, and to reflections on the evolution of the Section's role and activities;
• Contributing to independent technical assessment capability and supporting project reviews;
• Representing the Agency in your area(s) of expertise within ESA and with external entities, such as industry and delegations;
• Coordinating the dissemination of the results of the Section within and outside ESA.

R&D and technology management:

• In line with anticipated technology trends and project needs, defining, promoting and implementing the Section’s contributions to ESA technology programmes and R&D activities;
• Coordinating, where applicable, the requirements of technology elements in your domain of expertise with the overall requirements of the systems being developed under the responsibility of other areas in the Directorate;
• Liaising with relevant technology expert groups and coordination mechanisms.

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Laboratory management:

• Managing the associated payloads and remote sensing engineering tool laboratory, including relevant specialised simulation tools, models and testing capabilities.

General responsibilities and leadership:

• Ensuring a positive and motivating working environment for the Section;
• Communicating ESA values and ensuring compliance with all ESA policies;
• Taking responsibility within the Section for brokering agreements with other parties and for actively encouraging cross-unit cooperation;
• Anticipating and resolving sensitive or difficult situations, detecting and managing health and safety issues and liaising with HR as required;
• Establishing good working relationships and technical networks with users, project groups and other organisations both inside and outside the Agency;
• Reporting to high-level management and ensuring the flow-down of communication from management.

You will also be responsible for identifying, assessing, managing and reporting the health and safety risks in your area of responsibility.

Technical competencies
Knowledge of relevant technical domains

Experience in supporting ESA programmes/projects and knowledge of their technical and programmatic requirements in relevant technical domains

Knowledge of the industrial landscape in relevant technical domains and the ability to define technology development roadmaps identifying future trends in technology requirements

Experience in implementing and driving R&D activities, as well as knowledge of the ESA technology programmes

Resource management experience

Experience in ESA procurement processes and contract management as well as applied negotiation skills

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

Education
A master’s degree in telecommunications/electronic engineering and/or radio frequency engineering is required for this post.

Additional requirements
You should also have:

• the potential to manage individuals or a team of experts in a project or R&D setting;
• the ability to organise their activities and ensure a motivating work environment;
• strong leadership capabilities, with proven relationship management and communication skills;
• the ability to drive your team’s performance, developing your people by encouraging learning, delegating responsibility and giving regular and constructive feedback;
• strong problem-solving skills to deal with day-to-day operational challenges, together with demonstrated planning and organisational skills;
• strong result orientation with the ability to set priorities and present practical solutions both orally and in writing;
• the ability to manage challenging situations proactively and constructively and to be customer focused;
• the ability to represent the Agency in interfaces with industry and government agencies.

Previous people management experience would be an asset, as would international experience, i.e. outside your home country, as well as experience in diverse functional areas relevant to ESA activities.

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, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

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 [email protected].

Important Information and Disclaimer
In principle, recruitment will be within the advertised grade band (A2-A4). However, if the selected candidate has less than four years of relevant professional experience following the completion of the master’s degree, the position may be filled at A1 level.

Applicants must be eligible to access technology and hardware which is subject to European and US export control regulations & security clearance by their national security administrations.

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.

Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

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 can only be considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to internal candidates and secondly to external candidates from under-represented 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.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.

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