Science Archives Development and Operations Manager

Science Archives Development and Operations Manager

The European Space Agency (ESA) maintains a world-leading Science Programme with missions in heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics, and fundamental physics, aiming to “empower Europe to lead space science”. The Science Operations Department (SCI-S) within ESA’s Directorate of Science oversees space missions from study to end of operations, develops science operation systems, operates missions in space, and archives and curates data to maximize scientific output for humankind.

As the Head of the Science Archives Development and Operations Section, also known as the ESAC Science Data Centre (ESDC) within the Data Science and Archives Division (SCI-S), you will be directly responsible to the Head of the Division.

Duties

You will lead the planning, development, and operations of the Directorate’s missions’ science archives at the ESAC Science Data Centre throughout each mission’s lifecycle. This includes development, operations, post-operations, and legacy phases, adhering to requirements and plans set by relevant science ground segment teams. You will represent the Department and Directorate in internal and external science data management and archive-related activities, including international alliances, working groups, conferences, and workshops.

You will manage the ESDC team, comprising scientists and software engineers, collaborating closely with other Department and Directorate entities, mission stakeholders, the Product Assurance team, and the programmatic IT unit.

Your responsibilities will encompass:

• Developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for the Directorate’s science archives.
• Identifying and managing technical and scientific synergies across various archives.
• Implementing mission archive plans and Virtual Observatory data services, aligning with mission requirements, planning, and reporting on resources, schedules, constraints, and internal/external interfaces, based on recommendations from Archives User Groups.
• Managing extensive interfaces with ESDC stakeholders, both within ESA and with external partners on archival matters.
• Managing the Directorate’s contribution to ESA’s Heritage Space Programme.
• Representing ESA and the Department in international data alliances (e.g., IVOA, IPDA, IHDEA) at scientific and technical workshops and conferences on science data archiving and management.
• Promoting ESA Science Archives within the scientific community and fostering collaborations with external data centres.
• Ensuring ESDC personnel maintain high scientific and technical proficiency.

Technical Competencies

• Extensive experience in scientific data management and archiving systems for the scientific community.
• Proven expertise in developing and operating scalable and distributed systems for big data.
• Demonstrated experience in people management, preferably within an international setting.
• Proficiency in stakeholder management and negotiations with mission teams, scientific consortiums, end-users, and service providers.
• Experience in leading multi-disciplinary expert groups.
• Strong background in collaborating with the scientific community and international partners.

Behavioural Competencies

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

Education and Additional Requirements

A master’s degree in computer science, space sciences, or engineering is mandatory. As a manager at ESA, you should possess strong leadership capabilities, communication skills, the ability to motivate and develop a team, problem-solving abilities, and a results-oriented approach. Experience in agile and DevOps, human factor engineering, cloud computing, understanding user needs, and managing service contracts are considered assets. A PhD in physics, space science, or a related field is also an asset.

Key skills/competency

• Scientific Data Management
• Data Archiving Systems
• Big Data Systems
• Distributed Systems
• People Management
• Stakeholder Management
• International Collaboration
• Software Engineering
• Strategic Planning
• Virtual Observatory