Head of the System and Applications Engineering Division

Description

Head of the System and Applications Engineering Division in the Ground Systems Engineering and Innovation Department of the Directorate of Operations.

Duties

Under the direct authority of the Head of the Ground Systems Engineering and Innovation Department, the Head of the System and Applications Engineering Division is a member of the Department Management Team and is jointly responsible for implementing the Department's strategy and related change process. The successful candidate will also be responsible for ground system and applications engineering and innovation activities in the domain of ground data systems, and for coordinating such activities across the Department, where an end-to-end system perspective is relevant and/or to exploit commonalities and synergies beyond the Division.

As Head of Division your responsibilities will include:

• engineering of software infrastructure, systems and applications required for mission operations or by space programmes for various purposes, and their management throughout the end-to-end lifecycle. This includes the implementation of the Multi-Mission Programme under the programmatic lead of the Multi-Mission Programme Manager, mission control systems, mission planning systems, simulators and data processing systems, among others: 
• delivery of the systems and provision of the associated development, maintenance and user support in line with customer requirements. You will be responsible for the associated internal resources and industrial contracts, and will (co-)chair the end-to-end governance at system and applications level, from conception to end-of-life. Efficiency, result orientation and customer focus are key;
• leading European space sector efforts in the ground system and applications engineering domain, fostering innovation, commercialisation and enlargement of the department’s footprint in ESA’s Member States. You will coordinate the Department's overall efforts in in accordance within agreed strategic priorities;
• leading spin-in of advanced technologies and methodologies for system and applications engineering across the Department, particularly in key strategic areas like automation and ground cybersecurity engineering. You will establish and manage the associated Centres of Excellence and Communities of Practise;
• leading R&D activities in the Division's domain of responsibility and providing internal strategic coordination of the Department's R&D activities in alignment with a joint strategy and governance;
• leading standardisation and European harmonisation efforts in the Division's domain of responsibility, in particular in international fora like ECSS and CCSDS, and managing the Directorate’s standardisation programme, relying on its domains of competence;
• managing and transforming the Directorate’s software licensing with a focus on establishing and managing of open-source communities. You will develop and manage representative IV&V environments to be used throughout the systems lifecycle from end-to-end,  supporting operational validation activities as required;
• transforming staff competences to meet current and future strategic needs. 
   

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

Master's degree in engineering or computer science. General management and business administration qualifications are an asset.

Additional requirements

You should further have:

• proven experience of leading, motivating and developing a team;
• the ability to provide strategic direction to the individuals and teams within the Division and to relate team objectives to the overall, evolving organisational goals and context;
• the ability to drive performance and foster cooperation within and across teams throughout the organisation;
• demonstrated excellent leadership, relationship management and communication skills, both oral and written;
• a proven track record of representing the Agency’s interests to external interfaces;
• excellent cognitive, analytical, delegation, planning and organisational skills;
• the ability to anticipate problems, solve complex issues and relate situations to their context;
• the ability to make solution-oriented, pragmatic and timely decisions of a high standard and with integrity and to support others (team members, upper management, other stakeholders) in this process.

People management experience is an asset, as is international experience, i.e. outside your home country, as well as experience in diverse functional areas relevant to ESA activities.