VN 26/02 Ground Station Sites, Infrastructure and Maintenance Management Team Leader

EUMETSAT is Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, operating a fleet of geostationary (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites delivering weather and climate-related satellite data and images to our users worldwide; helping protect lives, property and industries.

The Ground Station Sites, Infrastructure and Maintenance Management Team Leader will be responsible for the management of the maintenance and the evolution of the operational EUMETSAT ground stations spread around eight main sites in Continental Europe and overseas. The successful candidate will become part of the Ground Stations Competence Area in the Satellite System Ground Segments Division (SGS) of the Technical and Scientific Support Department in EUMETSAT.

She/he will also be involved in system validation tests (SVT) and In-orbit testing (IOT) related activities, at the level of definition, design, specification and follow up or implementation for new satellites in operational programmes.

Duties

• Management of maintenance contracts for Operational EUMETSAT ground stations;
• Management of the team of engineers (staff and services);
• Procurement and management of ground stations upgrades and evolutions including internal coordination with stakeholders;
• Monitor obsolescence and define mid-term evolution strategies;
• Provide regular financial inputs for budget planning purposes and regular reports on implementation status for assigned budgets;
  • Support EUMETSAT new Programmes during development phases providing feedback in the areas of operation and maintenance of ground stations;
  • Support the operations preparation, launch and commissioning activities related to RF compatibility, spacecraft SVT infrastructure and In-Orbit Tests;
  • Provision of support to configuration control activities.

    LOCATION Darmstadt, Germany

    QUALIFICATIONS

    University Degree or equivalent in Telecommunications or Electronic Engineering.

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

    DEADLINE

    2 March 2026

    Duties

    • Management of maintenance contracts for Operational EUMETSAT ground stations;
    • Management of the team of engineers (staff and services);
    • Procurement and management of ground stations upgrades and evolutions including internal coordination with stakeholders;
    • Monitor obsolescence and define mid-term evolution strategies;
    • Provide regular financial inputs for budget planning purposes and regular reports on implementation status for assigned budgets;
      • Support EUMETSAT new Programmes during development phases providing feedback in the areas of operation and maintenance of ground stations;
      • Support the operations preparation, launch and commissioning activities related to RF compatibility, spacecraft SVT infrastructure and In-Orbit Tests;
      • Provision of support to configuration control activities.

        Skills and Experience

        • Experience in the management of international engineering teams;
        • Experience in the management of industrial contracts, for both service and product centred procurements;
        • Proven experience in engineering, integration, maintenance and operation of large ground stations for GEO/LEO Earth observation satellites and the management and oversight of industrial contracts with Prime and subcontractors;
        • Experience in RF (L/S/X/K-Band), Receiver/Baseband, modulation/ demodulation of TT&C and Payload/Instrument data;
        • ECSS standards and CCSDS recommendations for packet TM/TC, Ranging, RF coding and modulation and SLE services;
        • Local and remote Monitoring & Control systems design, development, implementation, verification and validation and operations in the frame of ground stations;
        • System engineering skills, related to the integration of Data acquisition, TT&C, Ranging functions into an overall Ground Segment;
        • Some experience of communications protocols (Ethernet, IP suite, DVB, IP over satellite) and Formal analysis and design method would be an advantage
        • Strong interpersonal and communications skills, and strengths in analysis, synthesis and presentation of complex problems and solutions.

          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 5,363 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.

          Applicants are required to disclose all nationalities they have held and currently hold in order to determine whether they can exercise the role as advertised in compliance with applicable export control regulations.

          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.)