EO Future Missions Optical Payload and Performance Engineer - European Space Agency (Noordwijk)

About this position

The summary below is published by European Space Agency on the official vacancy notice. Our own analysis — salary realism, comparable openings, career trajectory, language profile — follows further down the page.

Key responsibilities

According to the vacancy notice, the role centres on the following duties:

• Identify and investigate new Earth observation principles, techniques and technologies in coordination with staff across departments and external research groups
• Maintain knowledge of relevant technology status and instrument development programmes inside and outside ESA, including other space agencies and commercial initiatives
• Define and assess the performance and technological readiness of new EO optical payload systems
• Define, negotiate, initiate and manage industrial contracts for study and risk-retirement of new optical payload systems
• Define, negotiate, initiate and manage risk-retirement activities through technology breadboarding and pre-development of optical payload systems
• Define, negotiate, initiate and manage development of ground-based or airborne instrument models
• Provide expert support for optical payload aspects of missions undergoing evaluation or preparation
• Serve as optical instrument lead for future EO missions in Phase 0 or Phase A

Are you eligible?

Check these requirements from the notice before investing time in an application:

• Education: Master's degree in engineering or physics
• Experience: Five years of relevant professional experience; at least five years of relevant experience in EO optical instrument preparation and/or development; experience in development of mission and instrument performance analysis models/tools for EO optical instruments
• Key skills: Knowledge of technical domains and related R&D space industry trends, Knowledge of innovation-related processes, Experience in spaceborne optical instrument development, Experience in optical Earth observation mission and instrument performance modelling, Knowledge of optical remote sensing techniques and understanding of Earth observation user needs, Good interpersonal skills, Ability to work, coordinate and interact within small teams and work autonomously, Ability to coordinate and liaise with Earth observation scientists and users for mission requirements definition

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: 4 years, with possible extension up to a maximum duration of 8 years.

Working arrangements: ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands.

Hiring unit: Optical Instruments Section, Future Missions and Instruments Division, Future Missions and Architecture Department, Dir….

Position details

Reference

1447511933

Last Verified

18 October 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for EO Future Missions Optical Payload and Performance Engineer at ESA based in Noordwijk (Other). The vacancy reference is 1447511933.

Job Requisition ID:21005

Date Posted:14 October 2026

Closing Date:4 November 2026 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication Method:Internal & External

Directorate:Earth Observation Programmes

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This is a fixed-term appointment with an initial duration of 4 years. Depending upon performance and organisational needs, the appointment may be extended up to a possible maximum duration of 8 years.

Location ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Description

Earth Observation (EO) Future Missions Optical Payload and Performance Engineer in the Optical Instruments Section, Future Missions and Instruments Division, Future Missions and Architecture Department, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes.

Reporting to the Head of the Optical Instruments Section, you will be responsible for the end-to-end definition, engineering, technology breadboarding and pre-development of optical payload systems for future EO missions, both for research missions (e.g. Earth Explorers, Missions of Opportunity and Scout missions) and operational missions (e.g. Copernicus and meteorology missions).

The above payloads include EO multispectral imagers, imaging spectrometers and Fourier-Transform spectrometers, as well as active laser payloads for Earth surface and atmosphere sensing, covering the full wavelength range from ultraviolet to far infrared.

You will be involved in the study and pre-development of one or several of them. You will be appointed optical instrument lead for the preparation of future EO missions in Phase 0 or Phase A.

Duties

Your duties will include:

- identifying and investigating new Earth observation principles, techniques and technologies in coordination with staff in this Department, in the Science, Applications and Climate Department and the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality, including interfacing with research and technical groups, in particular with relevant Science Mission Advisory Groups; - maintaining knowledge of relevant technology status and instrument development programmes inside and outside ESA, including developments undertaken by other space agencies in Europe and worldwide, as well as commercial initiatives such as those driven under NewSpace, in close collaboration with the Division’s Technology Coordination and Frequency Management Section; - defining and assessing the performance and technological readiness of new EO optical payload systems in close collaboration with the staff of the Division’s Mission and System Studies Section, taking into account mission, system and programmatic objectives and requirements; - defining, negotiating, initiating and managing industrial contracts for the study and risk-retirement of new optical payload systems, according to the agreed activity plan; - defining, negotiating, initiating and managing risk-retirement activities through technology breadboarding and pre-development of optical payload systems for future EO missions (including Earth Explorer, Copernicus, meteorology) up to their completion, coordinating instrument pre-development activities with project teams when required; - defining, negotiating, initiating and managing the development of ground-based or airborne instrument models, according to the maturity of the concepts and performance-demonstration needs; - providing expert support to the Division for the optical payload aspects of missions undergoing evaluation or preparation, including for the evaluation of mission proposals, optical payload system support for Phase 0/A and mission architecture studies, and contributing to the preparation of technical and scientific dossiers on new EO research and operational missions; - being the optical instrument lead for future EO missions in Phase 0 or Phase A; - supporting InCubed proposal evaluation and ensuring the technical management of activities when related to EO optical payloads and technologies; - defining, developing, maintaining and upgrading optical payload systems dimensioning and mission performance models and tools to assess new instrument concepts.

Technical competencies

Knowledge of technical domains and related R&D space industry trends

Knowledge of innovation-related processes

Experience in spaceborne optical instrument development

Experience in optical Earth observation mission and instrument performance modelling

Knowledge of optical remote sensing techniques and understanding of Earth observation user needs

Behavioural competencies

Education and professional experience

A master's degree in engineering or physics is required for this post together with five years of relevant professional experience.

Additional requirements

- At least five years of relevant experience in EO optical instrument preparation and/or development is required. - Experience in the development of mission and instrument performance analysis models/tools for EO optical instruments is required. - Experience in working in a team or project environment is required. - You should have good interpersonal skills and be able to work, coordinate and interact within small teams as well as work autonomously. - You should be able to coordinate and liaise with Earth observation scientists and users for the definition of mission requirements. - You will be expected to contribute to a dynamic and creative environment in the preparatory phases of EO missions. - Experience in active optical instruments or thermal infrared instruments would be an asset.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 18 October 2026, today.

The application deadline is 4 November 2026, 15 days from today. Late applications are not accepted, so submit through the official EU Careers portal well in advance.

Last verified against the EU Careers feed on 18 October 2026.

Where to learn more

For headcount, mission, and other open vacancies at ESA see the ESA institution page; for the cost of living, correction coefficient, and other postings in Noordwijk see our Noordwijk location page.

New to EU careers? Our beginner's guide walks through entry routes, EPSO competitions, and what to prepare. For application logistics see application tips and EPSO competitions.