Science Operations System Engineer for Cloud Platform

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This is a post for a limited duration of three years.

Location
ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain 

Description

ESA maintains a world-leading Science Programme with missions in heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics and fundamental physics. Its mission is to "empower Europe to lead space science". The Department of Science Operations hosts the scientists and engineers that oversee the space missions, from study to end of operations. It defines and develops the science operation systems for the missions and operates the missions in space, as well as archiving and curating their data during operations and beyond. Its main objective is to maximise the scientific output of ESA's space science missions for the benefit of humankind.

You will join the Data Science Section as Science Operations System Engineer for Cloud Platform to support the development and extension to cloud of the ESA Datalabs ) science platform, with primary application to the Euclid Data Space. The Data Science Section is a cross-disciplinary team working closely with the ESA science missions: primarily Euclid, Gaia, XMM-Newton and JWST. Aside from experts in astronomy, computer science and software systems engineering, the Section works with young professionals, researchers and students at universities. Through its diverse setup, the Section handles tasks ranging from technical infrastructure and scientific activities to building (international) community efforts around data science and machine learning.

As Science Operations System Engineer for Cloud Platform development, you will be tasked with supporting the extension of the existing ESA Datalabs platform into a hybrid multi-cloud setup providing access to petabytes of data to scientists worldwide, leveraging the capabilities of both European cloud providers and partnering academic institutions. As the platform serves as a foundation for machine learning use cases, in particular for scientific machine learning projects aimed at increasing return on science, your role will define and provide the respective components of the platform for MLOps, pipeline orchestration and load balancing, for example, jointly with suppliers from industry.

Duties

Within the Data Science Section, you will be responsible for: 

• supporting the definition and implementation of the architecture for a hybrid-cloud science platform (expanding ESA Datalabs - );
• defining and formalising the ESA Datalabs system architecture down to the level of individual functionalities, including ensuring that the process and tools exist to capture, de-conflict and implement all associated requirements;
• supporting the design, implementation and testing of platform modules based on corresponding development plans;
• promoting multiple types of use cases on the platform, such as data science, citizen science and science operations;
• contributing to the Department's data science strategy in close collaboration with the ESAC Science Data Centre and the science missions;
• acting as Technical Officer for industrial services and external contracts supporting the activities of the Section;
• Supporting the Head of the Data Science Section on any relevant Section matters;
• supporting the management of interfaces to other ESA directorates and to partnering space agencies, including platform federation activities.

Technical competencies Strong background in computer science or software engineering Knowledge of relevant technology and architectural concepts for on-premise and cloud-based platforms, for example object storage and Kubernetes Knowledge of best practices in DevOps engineering and related tools, such as Jira, Bitbucket, Harness CI and Sonarqube Knowledge of best practices in high-performance computing Behavioural competencies

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

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

A master's degree in a relevant domain is required for this post. A PhD is desirable.

Additional requirements

Additional assets for this position are:

• experience in machine learning engineering and related tooling;
• experience with European cloud providers, as well as market-leading hyperscalers;
• experience developing large-scale data warehousing systems;
• experience working with or at supercomputers and computing centres;
• experience working on European supercomputing initiatives such as PRACE or EuroHPC;
• experience in science operations in the context of space missions, for example;
• experience in managing contracts relating to R&D, for example;
• experience working with and coordinating interdisciplinary and intercultural teams;
• experience in supervising or advising students and junior researchers and developers.

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, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. 

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

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 information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.

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

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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