Closing in 3 days

HEAD OF UNIT ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, PLASMA ENGINEERING & SYSTEM QUALIFICATION - Fusion for Energy (AD9, Barcelona)

GradeAD9
Contract TypeTemporary Agent
Salary Range€10,083 - €11,408/month
Deadline17 September 2026

About this position

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

Apply for

HEAD OF UNIT ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, PLASMA ENGINEERING & SYSTEM QUALIFICATION (Step 1 / 3)

Already registered

Password

New registration

All fields marked with an (*) are mandatory

Email*

Email confirmation*

Password*

Create your password, between 8 and 128 characters including at least 1 digit, 1 special character, 1 uppercase character.

Password confirmation*

Last name*

First name*

Next step

Contract and working arrangements

Hiring unit: UNIT ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, PLASMA ENGINEERING & SYSTEM QUALIFICATION.

Position details

Reference: F4E/INTERNAL/AD9-14/2026/10005
Last Verified: 15 September 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for HEAD OF UNIT ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, PLASMA ENGINEERING & SYSTEM QUALIFICATION at F4E based in Barcelona at the AD9 grade level (Temporary Agent). The vacancy reference is F4E/INTERNAL/AD9-14/2026/10005.

Apply for

HEAD OF UNIT ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, PLASMA ENGINEERING & SYSTEM QUALIFICATION (Step 1 / 3)

Already registered

Password

New registration

All fields marked with an (*) are mandatory

Email*

Email confirmation*

Password*

Create your password, between 8 and 128 characters including at least 1 digit, 1 special character, 1 uppercase character.

Password confirmation*

Last name*

First name*

Next step

Salary at this grade

Basic monthly salary at AD9 runs from €10,083 (step 1) to €11,408 (top step), giving an annual range of roughly €120,996 to €136,896 before tax and allowances. Steps increase automatically every two years; the figures here are taken from the salary grid in the EU Staff Regulations.

Eligible staff posted away from their country of nationality also receive an expatriation allowance worth 16% of basic salary (around €1,613 per month at step 1 of AD9) together with household, dependent-child, and education allowances where applicable. Take-home pay is then adjusted by the country correction coefficient for Barcelona. For a worked example see our correction coefficients guide and the EU salaries overview.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 2 September 2026, 13 days ago.

The application deadline is 17 September 2026, 2 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 15 September 2026.

Where to learn more

For full responsibilities, requirements, and career progression at AD9 see our AD9 grade page; for headcount, mission, and other open vacancies at F4E see the F4E institution page; for the cost of living, correction coefficient, and other postings in Barcelona see our Barcelona 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.

Net pay at this grade

At step 1 of AD9, gross monthly basic salary on the Administrators grid is €10,083. Eligible expatriate staff add a 16% expatriation allowance on top (roughly €1,613 per month) before two automatic deductions reduce the taxable base: the joint sickness insurance scheme (JSIS, ~3.6%, €421) and the EU pension contribution (~10.3%, €1,205). EU community tax (Council Reg. 260/68) is then applied progressively; for the AD7-equivalent band the effective rate sits in the 11 to 13% range, which works out to about €1,208 per month here.

For Barcelona we apply the Brussels-equivalent coefficient (100%) as a default. The official coefficient may differ, see the methodology guide for the most recent table. On those assumptions take-home pay is approximately €8,862 per month, or about €106,342 per year, before household and dependent-child allowances, which can add several hundred euros monthly for staff with families. For the exact bracket-by-bracket computation see our net-pay methodology, and our correction coefficients guide for the full duty-station table.

Comparable recent roles

In the last twenty-four months F4E (and the wider Commission and agencies family) has filled several adjacent roles at the same AD9 grade level. The most recent comparable vacancies, with their actual application windows:

Project Officer Resilience Capabilities at EDA (published 2026-09-10, closed 2026-10-13)
Project Officer Missiles and Munitions Technologies at EDA (published 2026-09-03, closed 2026-10-06)
Head of Communities and Consistent Practices Service at EUIPO (published 2026-09-01, closed 2026-09-22)
Head of Litigation Service at EUIPO (published 2026-09-01, closed 2026-09-22)
Head of Unit – Analysis & Strategic Coordination at Europol (O1 Operational and Analysis Centre (OAC)) (published 2026-08-17, closed 2026-09-23)

Pattern recognition matters here: recruiters at the same Directorate-General often re-advertise nearly identical profiles every six to nine months, so candidates who miss one window can typically position for the next one. Browse the live catalog: all AD9 openings, other vacancies at F4E.

Career trajectory

Career progression for AD9 staff is governed by Articles 44 to 46 of the Staff Regulations (consolidated text on EUR-Lex) and Annex IB on the promotion procedure. Step increases are automatic every two years (Art. 44); grade promotion is competitive, based on the appraisal exercise (Art. 45) and the Career Development Review. For roles at F4E, progression into AD12-AD14 (head of unit, then director-level) typically follows a competitive selection rather than seniority. Article 46 governs the classification at recruitment, which sets the starting step within the grade (usually step 1 for external recruits without prior EU service, step 2 or 3 where relevant professional experience is recognised).

Mobility within the institutions is encouraged via the inter-institutional and intra-institutional vacancy publication system: temporary agents who pass the probation period and reservists from EPSO laureate lists can typically apply to internal vacancies after one year of service. Lateral moves between Directorates-General reset the seniority clock for promotion only if the new post carries a different grade.

Language profile

Beyond the formal language requirements stated in the vacancy notice, the day-to-day working languages at this employer are English and French in roughly equal measure, with German appearing in some technical files. Internal meetings and most policy drafting in Brussels run in English; French remains the preferred internal language in Luxembourg-based services and parts of DG TRADE.

Application cadence

F4E has not advertised another AD9 role with the same grade and subject signature in the past twenty-four months. This opening has rarely been seen on the EU Careers feed and may be the first such posting in our two-year window. Applicants who pass the eligibility checks should not assume the same profile will reopen on a predictable cadence.

Visit the official Fusion for Energy website

Apply on EU Careers

Source: This job listing was sourced from the officialEU Careers portal (EPSO). First published: 2 September 2026.Salary estimate based on EU Staff Regulations.

More jobs at F4E More AD9 jobs More jobs in Barcelona