Archive Scientist
JOB DETAIL
Vacancy in the Directorate of Science.
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, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.
This post is classified A2–A4 on the Coordinated Organisations’ salary scale.
Location
ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain
Description
The European Space Agency maintains a world-leading Science Programme with missions in heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics and fundamental physics. The Science and Operations Department (SCI-S), within ESA’s Directorate of Science, hosts the scientists and engineers that oversee the space missions from study to end of operations and legacy phase; it develops the science operation systems for the missions and operates the missions in space; it archives and curates their data during operations and beyond. Our main objective is to maximise the scientific output of the missions for the benefit of humankind.
You will be assigned as Archive Scientist within the ESAC Science Data Centre (SCI-SAA) within the Data Science and Archives Division (SCI-SA), initially assigned to Mars missions.
Duties
You will be responsible for the definition and specification of the Planetary Scientific Archive for the supported ESA planetary missions and for the follow-up and monitoring of the Archive’s implementation and operation with the goal of maximising the scientific return of the missions.
Your duties will include:
- ownership of use cases and drivers for the mission archive; you will coordinate with the PSA Science Lead to:
- interface with the Project Scientist, the Science Operations Centre (SOC) team, other Archive Science Leads and other Archive Scientists, as well as the external stakeholders (instrument teams and the mission scientific community), to provide the science use cases that drive the mission archive and determine the priorities for their implementation;
- provide scientific support and steer the development and operations of the Planetary Science Archive for the supported ESA planetary missions, providing the ESAC Science Data Centre (ESDC) development team with an Archive User Requirements Document as a baseline for implementation;
- monitor the implementation, testing and expected performance of the archive, based on use cases gathered by the mission team and derived requirements; in particular, defining and performing the end user acceptance testing of the different archive versions prior to their release to the scientific community;
- with the help of the Instrument Operations Scientists, supervise and coordinate the definition and provision of science data products and any higher-level data products from the community or instrument teams as needed, including liaising on submission schedules and content;
- liaise with any internal and external providers to ensure the completeness of all levels of data products, with the highest possible level of scientific quality, contributing to the optimisation and refinement of the archive products when possible;
- organising, where required, peer reviews for the assessment and evaluation of the archive products and documentation quality;
- encouraging and contributing to the science exploitation of the missions’ data products through archive usage;
- participating in the Archive Scientist meetings and user groups and sharing ideas and proposals for the strategy and promotion of the ESA Science Archives;
- supporting the scientific community through a helpdesk system for archive- and data product-related questions;
- conducting independent research, publishing articles using archival data, and assisting others in research and publication.
Technical competencies
Behavioural competencies
Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking
Education
A PhD in planetary science is required for this postion.
Additional requirements
The following are considered assets for this position:
- Experience in science operations, preferably in the context of ESA missions;
- Experience in Agile and DevOps methodologies, human factors engineering (UX design) and associated technologies and in their use in modern software engineering;
- Experience with outreach activities.
Other information
For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.
For further information please visit: Professionals, What we offer and FAQ
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.
The Agency may require applicants to undergo selection tests.
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 email [email protected].
Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
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*.
In accordance with the European Space Agency’s security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service.
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.
*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.
