Spacecraft Operations Engineer (m/f/d) Ref. No. 26-84015 in Frankfurt am Main

We are looking for a number of Spacecraft Operations Engineers to join our team and support the Copernicus missions run by ESA at ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany.

The primary areas of responsibility for this service are related to the Earth Observation Missions domain, but the service provider may be requested to assume the responsibility and perform activities for additional service, missions and activities within the scope of general spacecraft operations engineering services.

Responsibilities

As a Spacecraft Operations Engineer, your tasks will typically include:

• Prepare, validate, and maintain spacecraft operational procedures and flight operations documentation.
• Perform and support the execution of spacecraft operations during all mission phases, including LEOP, commissioning, routine, contingency, and end-of-life operations.
• This includes sending commands, sequences or stack files to the spacecraft.
• Monitoring the satellite status and health through analysis of telemetry, trend analysis, and anomaly detection.
• Supporting the configuration, commissioning plan, decommissioning plan and procedures preparation.
• Support with mission planning activities as well as with the continuous improvement and automation of operational processes.
• Preparation of reports, mission status updates, and operational documentation.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives and operational process enhancements.
• Developing strategies to operate an aging/degraded spacecraft

On-call periods are foreseen to be provided for the required operations support.

This is a full-time position to be located at Terma’s premises in Darmstadt with the planned start date on the 1st of July 2027.

Qualifications & Competencies

Relevant experience in providing Spacecraft Operations engineering support is considered an advantage. Experience related to any of the Copernicus Sentinel missions is particularly desirable.

In addition to having a university degree in a relevant engineering field, astronomy, mathematics, or physics, you should be able to cover many of the following topics:

Ideally you will have the following skills and experience:

• Experience in the preparation of flight procedures and in the creation of operational documentation.
• Experience in spacecraft operations, including routine and contingency operations.
• Experience with mission control systems and operational tools used in spacecraft operations environments.
• Experience in ground segment engineering.
• Knowledge of spacecraft subsystems and their operational constraints.
• Experience in anomaly investigation and recovery activities.
• Coordination and interaction with other service providers in operations and other fields.
• Experience in operational simulations, validation campaigns, and operational readiness activities.
• Experience supporting ESA, EUMETSAT, or other institutional space missions.
• Familiarity with ECSS standards and spacecraft operations processes.
• Knowledge of scripting languages (e.g. Python, Bash, etc.) for operational automation.
• Experience with Linux-based operational environments.
• Familiarity with CCSDS telemetry and telecommand standards.
• Experience with mission planning systems and procedure execution tools.
• Experience in the validation and verification of operational procedures.
• Ability to contribute to process improvement and operational automation initiatives
• Multi-task efficiently; working on multiple activities, multiple subsystems and if applicable multiple missions simultaneously.

Fluency in English (written and spoken) is mandatory. You will have the capability to work in teams, while at the same time being a self-starter, able to work independently with little supervision.

Due to the variety of tasks and the scope of the systems to be supported, you should be able to quickly adapt to changes in assignments, manage tasks in an efficient way, and demonstrate a high degree of independence and autonomy. You must have excellent analytical skills, and be effective working within a small team, and have good presentation and communication skills.

You should be able to conduct all your activities in an orderly and disciplined manner, encouraging a friendly and collaborative working environment, demonstrating capabilities in applying principles, handling critical discourse, and be open to discussing and sharing solutions with others. Moreover, you must be able to participate actively in technical meetings and/or formal reviews and activity assessments.

What can Terma offer

At Terma, we consider skilled employees, enthusiasm, and job satisfaction as the very foundation of our success and as a prerequisite for the development of the “best-in-class” solutions that Terma provides. We lead the way in applying new technology, offering a wide range of growth opportunities for each individual and emphasizing mutual respect across the board in our workplace.

Terma offers you a pleasant working environment at the customer site, where you will be able to take on challenging tasks and responsibilities in a highly professional company.

• Great opportunities for training and personal development
• Challenges in advanced technical environment
• International and cosmopolitan working atmosphere and team spirit
• An employment contract with an attractive package with extra-legal benefits
• Highly competitive salary

Recruitment depends on successful selection by the customer. Please note that applicants must hold all appropriate documentation and permits to work in Europe.