IRIS² Lead Ground Segment Service 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:

• Supervise end-to-end technical requirements lifecycle for IRIS² service component including OSS and BSS
• Coordinate with domain teams (operations, security, service management) to ensure consistent requirements and aligned processes
• Prepare for and support project reviews at ground-segment level
• Supervise implementation of service-infrastructure activities ensuring compliance with requirements
• Liaise with system office for correct implementation and integration of interfaces
• Support alignment of OSS/BSS workflows with ITIL processes
• Monitor schedules and delivery progress, identify risks and propose mitigation actions
• Monitor and control changes and deviations related to service component

Are you eligible?

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

• Education: Master's degree in a relevant engineering discipline required, or bachelor's degree with additional four years of relevant professional experience
• Experience: Four years of relevant professional experience required (or eight years total if bachelor's degree holder)
• Key skills: Supervising full lifecycle of technical requirements for service infrastructure, Coordinating cross-domain technical activities, Service management frameworks (ITIL, TMF), Supervising implementation of service-infrastructure activities, Tracking, evaluating, and controlling changes, Development and integration of large scale software systems, Problem-solving skills, Planning and organisational skills, Results orientation and priority setting, Oral and written communication

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: 4 years, extendable to indefinite.

Hiring unit: Secure Connectivity Ground Segment & Operations Office (CSC-IG), Secure Connectivity Programme Department (CSC-I), Dire….

Position details

Reference

1439071433

Last Verified

21 September 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for IRIS² Lead Ground Segment Service Engineer at ESA based in Noordwijk (Other). The vacancy reference is 1439071433.

Job Requisition ID:20882

Date Posted:19 September 2026

Closing Date:10 October 2026 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication:Internal & External

Type of Appointment (learn more):4 years, extendable to indefinite

Directorate:Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity

Location ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Description

​​​Secure Connectivity Ground Segment Service Engineer in the Secure Connectivity Ground Segment & Operations Office (CSC-IG), within the Secure Connectivity Programme Department (CSC-I) in the Directorate of Connectivity and Secure Communications.

​

​The ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity, hereinafter referred to as “Secure Connectivity”, also IRIS², is intended to support the effective development and validation of the EU Secure Connectivity governmental infrastructure and the services provided by it, as well as the validation and demonstration of services based on the commercial infrastructure developed by the contractor(s) delivering the EU Secure Connectivity governmental infrastructure.

​Reporting to the Head of the Secure Connectivity Ground Segment & Operations Office, you will be responsible for supervising all ground segment service engineering tasks related to the effective design and development of the infrastructure providing services to the end users, operated by the IRIS² service management center, GOVSATCOM Hub and commercial operators.

Duties

​​Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

- ​supervising the end‑to‑end technical requirements lifecycle for the IRIS² service component of the ground segment —including OSS and BSS—covering functional, performance, operational, and security requirements, as well as decomposition to lower levels and the definition of associated interfaces; - coordinating with domain teams, such as operations, security, and service management (ITIL), to ensure consistent requirements, aligned processes, and coherent operational workflows across the service infrastructure of the ground segment; - ​preparing for, contributing to, and supporting project reviews at ground‑segment level, ensuring technical consistency, completeness of inputs, and alignment with applicable standards and milestone objectives; - supervising the implementation of the service‑infrastructure activities, ensuring that delivered components meet defined requirements, interface specifications, and verification and validation plans; - liaising with the system office to ensure correct implementation, integration, and validation of the interfaces between the system, the service component of the ground segment and the external interfaces (GOVSATCOM Hub, commercial operator), including support to interface control activities and cross‑segment coordination; - supporting the alignment of OSS/BSS workflows with ITIL processes, including incident, problem, change, and configuration management, to ensure operational readiness and smooth service transition; - monitoring relevant schedules and delivery progress, identifying risks and issues affecting the service infrastructure of the ground segment, conducting technical impact assessments, and proposing mitigation actions; - monitoring and controlling changes and deviations/anomalies related to the service component of the ground‑segment, ensuring change requests are analysed for technical impact, documented properly, and implemented in a controlled and traceable manner; - supporting integration activities involving 5G Core–related architectures, including the assessment of service‑based interfaces, exposure mechanisms, and operational workflows where applicable to the IRIS² service infrastructure; - supporting the service and exploitation team at the European Commission managing the overall service lifecycle management (following ITIL).

Technical competencies

​​​Strong capability in supervising the full lifecycle of technical requirements for a service infrastructure, covering functional, performance, operational, and security aspects, as well as their decomposition into lower‑level requirements and associated interfaces.

​Proven experience in coordinating cross‑domain technical activities, ensuring effective alignment with operations, security, system engineering and other relevant teams to maintain coherence across all requirements and interfaces.

​Demonstrated experience in service management frameworks (eg. ITIL, TMF).

​Expertise in supervising the implementation of service‑infrastructure activities, ensuring compliance with specifications, tracking integration status, and validating functional performance throughout the development lifecycle.

​Solid experience in tracking, evaluating, and controlling changes, ensuring that all modifications are assessed for technical impact, properly documented, and implemented in a controlled and traceable manner.

​Proven experience in the development and integration of large scale software systems.

Behavioural competencies

Education and professional experience

A master’s degree in a relevant engineering discipline is required for this post, together with four years of relevant professional experience. Alternatively, candidates with a bachelor’s degree, complemented by an additional four years of relevant professional experience, may be considered.

Additional requirements

- strong problem-solving skills to deal with day-to-day operational challenges, together with demonstrated planning and organisational skills; - strong results orientation with the ability to set priorities and present practical solutions both orally and in writing; - the ability to manage challenging situations proactively and constructively and to be customer focused; - direct experience of working with a commercial telecommunications company and operator will be a distinct advantage; - experience in public-private partnership projects would be an asset; - public speaking experience and the ability to conceptualise complex ideas would be beneficial; - experience working in projects with a security dimension would be beneficial.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 21 September 2026, today.

The application deadline is 10 October 2026, 18 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 21 September 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.

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