Safety Coordination Officer

Description

Safety Coordination Officer in the Independent Safety Office, Product Assurance & Safety Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC).

Duties

The Safety Coordination Officer’s duties are divided between provision of functional support to the Director of Space Transportation (STS) (50%) and liaison between the Independent Safety Office and the safety functions in ESA Directorates (50%).

You will report to D/TEC and D/STS and advise on matters related to risk safety to ensure well-informed risk acceptance. In additional, you will liaise with the safety services within ESA and coordinate on STS-related safety issues, taking due account of lessons learned, notably in anticipation of the Ariane 6, Vega C and Space Rider maiden flights.

You will also report to the Independent Safety Office (50%) and liaise with the safety functions in the ESA Directorates to promote and support the consistent implementation of ESA policies on space debris mitigation, planetary protection, use of nuclear power sources and re-entry safety.

Specific duties include:

• Coordinating the preparation of ESA/CNES safety meetings at Director level and providing support for meetings as Secretary;
• Overseeing STS Directorate flight programme compliance with the requirements and technical regulations of the French Space Operations Act;
• Liaising with the flight programme operational safety engineers in the Flight Programme Operational Safety Office;
• Liaising with the STS Directorate programme product assurance engineers in the STS Product Assurance Office;
• In cooperation with the operational safety functions in the ESA Directorates, monitoring programme and project compliance with safety requirements, overseeing safety issues, ensuring that lessons learned are taken into account and reporting periodically to D/STS and D/TEC;
• Providing technical support to the ESA projects that use nuclear power sources with respect to obtaining authorisation from the relevant launch authorities;
• Helping develop and maintain ESA policy-related requirements and standards for space debris mitigation, planetary protection, use of nuclear power sources and re-entry safety;
• Providing inputs for the Agency’s R&D plan for activities related to space debris mitigation, planetary protection, use of nuclear power sources and re-entry safety;
• Duties may include providing support to other activities within your area of competence.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

A Master’s degree in aerospace engineering or systems safety and dependability engineering is required.

Additional requirements

Several years’ working experience is required, preferably in space transportation system development and operations.
System safety qualitative and quantitative methods: hazard analysis, risk analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, hardware reliability analysis, human error analysis.
Knowledge of the ESA planetary protection policy and related regulatory framework and methods for bioburden reduction and contamination control.
Strong cognitive skills, good technical judgement and excellent planning and organisational skills are also required.
Excellent influencing and communication skills, both oral and written, and a proven track record of proactive team spirit and support to colleagues in knowledge transfer and problem-solving. High degree of professional curiosity, at both technical and strategic level.
The ability to lead disciplinary and inter-disciplinary groups of top experts is required for this role. Fluent French and English, both spoken and written, is mandatory.