VN 25/36 Quality Assurance Engineer

In the EUMETSAT matrix organisation, the Technical and Scientific Support (TSS) department provides support to the development and operations of EUMETSAT satellite systems, in particular ground systems, as well as quality assurance and management support services to the full organisation, through its Process Assurance and Management Support Division (PRS).

The selected Quality Assurance Engineer will be part of the TSS Quality Assurance team and closely collaborate with the engineering and scientific teams in TSS. He/she will be a member of TSS-led engineering development projects and will provide support to the evolutions of EUMETSAT operational services and to other engineering-related activities adopting new technologies in line with the organisation’s multi-mission approach.

Duties

• Plan and perform project quality assurance activities in support to project management, including the definition and tailoring of the applicable Quality and Product Assurance requirements, organisation of reviews and provision of key project quality indicators, identifying non-conformities with regards to the applicable processes and facilitating the project risk management process;
• Plan and provide Quality and Product Assurance support for the maintenance and evolution of operational ground systems and support services and for the management and follow up of technical investigations;
• Define and ensure applicability of Quality and Product Assurance requirements for technical/engineering support contracts and monitor their implementation, including reporting and acting upon detected deviations, anomalies and non-conformities;
• Provide Quality and Product Assurance support during acceptance process (e.g. Incoming Inspections, tests related reviews (e.g. Test Readiness Review/Test Review Board), acceptance related reviews, management of anomalies, etc.);
  • Provide Product Assurance support to the Ground Segment System, Software and IT Infrastructure components, including the provision of expert support in the review of related deliveries and during technical investigations and milestones;
  • Participate in Internal Quality Audits and Quality Audits on external contractors/suppliers as necessary, to ensure their established processes are appropriate to fulfil the contracts they hold with EUMETSAT, in line with EUMETSAT requirements;
  • Ensure lessons learned in TSS projects are gathered, assessed, recorded and implemented/applied as relevant to subsequent projects;
  • Provide Quality and Product Assurance training to TSS personnel.

    LOCATION Darmstadt, Germany

    QUALIFICATIONS

    A university degree in engineering or computer science (or another relevant discipline). Certification in quality assurance, management or auditing would be an advantage.

    LANGUAGES Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and have some knowledge of French.

    DEADLINE

    2 July 2025

    Duties

    • Plan and perform project quality assurance activities in support to project management, including the definition and tailoring of the applicable Quality and Product Assurance requirements, organisation of reviews and provision of key project quality indicators, identifying non-conformities with regards to the applicable processes and facilitating the project risk management process;
    • Plan and provide Quality and Product Assurance support for the maintenance and evolution of operational ground systems and support services and for the management and follow up of technical investigations;
    • Define and ensure applicability of Quality and Product Assurance requirements for technical/engineering support contracts and monitor their implementation, including reporting and acting upon detected deviations, anomalies and non-conformities;
    • Provide Quality and Product Assurance support during acceptance process (e.g. Incoming Inspections, tests related reviews (e.g. Test Readiness Review/Test Review Board), acceptance related reviews, management of anomalies, etc.);
      • Provide Product Assurance support to the Ground Segment System, Software and IT Infrastructure components, including the provision of expert support in the review of related deliveries and during technical investigations and milestones;
      • Participate in Internal Quality Audits and Quality Audits on external contractors/suppliers as necessary, to ensure their established processes are appropriate to fulfil the contracts they hold with EUMETSAT, in line with EUMETSAT requirements;
      • Ensure lessons learned in TSS projects are gathered, assessed, recorded and implemented/applied as relevant to subsequent projects;
      • Provide Quality and Product Assurance training to TSS personnel.

        Skills and Experience

        • Proven experience of minimum five years in, at least, one of the following domains: Quality Assurance, Product Assurance or Software Engineering for large-scale software-intensive systems (e.g. space, aeronautical, defence or automotive sectors), and general knowledge about the others;
        • Proven professional experience, as part of the Engineering team or the Product Assurance team, in projects developing Software Systems, including its Software and IT Infrastructure components;
        • Experience in Ground Segment Systems would be an advantage;
        • Knowledge of system engineering standards and methodologies in aspects relevant to space operational systems;
        • Experience in the definition and assessment of processes, good practices in the field of quality assurance, combined with good knowledge and practice of the ISO 9001 and/or other relevant QA standards;
        • Experience with new technologies such as cloud computing and Docker/ Kubernetes and development methodologies (e.g. Agile, DevOps) will be an advantage;
        • Excellent analysis, synthesis and presentation skills;
        • Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to apply these to interactions within and among teams.

          Employment Conditions

          The initial contract will be of 4 years’ duration, with subsequent 5 year contracts being awarded thereafter, subject to individual performance and organisation requirements. There is no limit to the amount of follow-up contracts a staff member can receive up to the EUMETSAT retirement age of 63 and there are certainly opportunities to establish a long career perspective at EUMETSAT.
          This post is graded A2/A4 on the EUMETSAT salary scales. The minimum basic salary for this post is EURO 7,340 per month (net of internal tax but excluding pension contribution and insurances) which may be negotiable on the basis of skills and experience. The salary scale provides for increments on the anniversary of taking up employment, and scales are reviewed by the EUMETSAT Council with effect from 1 January each year. In addition to basic salary, EUMETSAT offers attractive benefits. Further information, including salary details, is available on the EUMETSAT web site.
          
          EUMETSAT is committed to providing an equal opportunities work environment for men and women.
          Please note that only nationals of EUMETSAT Member States may apply. The EUMETSAT Convention requires that Staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, account being taken of the international character of EUMETSAT.

          About EUMETSAT EUMETSAT is Europe’s meteorological satellite agency. Its role is to establish and operate meteorological satellites to monitor the weather and climate from space - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This information is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation's Member States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide.
          
          EUMETSAT also operates several Copernicus missions on behalf of the European Union and provide data services to the Copernicus marine and atmospheric services and their users.
          
          As an intergovernmental European Organisation, EUMETSAT has 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.)