Software Product Assurance Engineer

Description

Software Product Assurance Engineer in the Software Product Assurance Section, Quality, Dependability and PA Support Division, Product Assurance and Safety Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality, integrated in the EGNOS Product Assurance, Safety and Security Unit.

The Software Product Assurance (SW PA) Section provides support to ESA projects and is responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining SW PA expertise and standards. The Section carries out technological research (R&D) in the fields of SW PA requirements, techniques, methodologies and tools. It also collaborates on standardisation and training activities.

The postholder will be assigned as Integrated Support to the Directorate of Navigation, EGNOS Project, and will report to the Head of the EGNOS Product Assurance, Safety and Security Unit with respect to the specific responsibilities and duties outlined below. Regarding maintenance of professional standards, implementation of the ESA general Product Assurance and Safety (PA&S) policy, and contributions to corporate tasks (e.g. reviews, standardisation, alerts, lessons learned, etc.), the incumbent will report to the Head of the Product Assurance and Safety Department through the Head of the Navigation Product Assurance and Safety Office.

Duties

The postholder will report to the Head of Section and, within the technical fields described above, will have as main tasks and responsibilities to:

• provide expert technical support and consultancy to the EGNOS project in the area of SW PA throughout all project phases;
• prepare and implement general programmatic and technical SW PA requirements aligned with ESA and DO/EUROCAE standards used on the EGNOS project, in accordance with applicable EGNOS specifications and regulations;
• evaluate the contractors’ proposed plans, technical specifications and efforts for execution of the development and qualification of software developed or used for the EGNOS project;
• monitor the contractors’ SW PA programme execution to ensure compliance with the project’s SW PA requirements;
• evaluate proposed concepts, designs and operations for compliance with defined SW PA requirements;
• participate in project reviews to assess compliance with the applicable requirements and formulate accept/reject recommendations;
• support the EGNOS PA&S Manager in following up subsystem reviews, particularly the qualification status of software;
• draw attention to any issues that are detected, particularly if these could impact the quality of the dossiers to be presented to certification authorities;
• perform audits of contractors and their in-house standards for compliance with ESA and EGNOS project requirements and assess the maturity of contractors’ software processes;
• liaise with related engineering and product assurance specialists with regard to overlapping fields of activity;
• coordinate with dependability and safety engineers in assessing the implementation of dependability and safety recommendations within software;
• participate in the software-related non-conformance management process;
• contribute to the dissemination of results of activities performed and the transfer of knowledge across the Agency.

These tasks require interaction with the EGNOS prime contractor and development subcontractors, the European GNSS Agency (GSA), and potentially the EGNOS Service Provider.

Technical competencies

General background and specific experience in the technical domains covered by the position

Understanding of related technologies, R&D trends and the industrial landscape

Project support experience in a relevant domain

Experience with the application of SW product assurance tools and methods

Experience in the management and monitoring of industrial activities, including participation in reviews

Experience with Space Quality Standards and their preparation and implementation

Behavioural competencies

Communication

Teamwork

Customer Focus

Problem Solving

Results Orientation

Planning & Organisation

Education

A Master’s degree or equivalent qualification in computer science, mathematics or software engineering is required.

Additional requirements

• Substantial experience of Software Product Assurance in aerospace or comparable domains, preferably on software-intensive safety-critical systems.
• Knowledge and experience of ECSS in software engineering and software PA standards, and of civil aviation standards (DO-178B/C, DO-278A) is also required.
• Experience of software certification processes is considered a distinct advantage.
• Familiarity with Global Navigation Satellite Systems and possibly the EGNOS system would be an asset.

Candidates must be eligible for security clearance by their national security administration.