Earth Observation Data Service Manager
Job Requisition ID: 19405
Date Posted: 3 March 2025
Closing Date: 24 March 2025 23:59 CET/CEST
Publication: Internal & External
Type of Contract: Permanent
Directorate: Earth Observation Programmes
Workplace:Frascati, IT
Grade Band: A2 - A4

DESCRIPTION

Earth Observation Data Service Manager in the Common Services Section, Ground Segment and Data Management Division, Earth Observation Mission Management and Ground Segment Department, Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes.
ESA is responsible for preparing the operations and subsequently operating the flying EO Science missions (including Earth Explorer and Earth Watch) and the Heritage missions at the required level of performances in line with mission requirements, adopting the most suitable technical, operational and management approach to maximise the missions’ scientific impact and the benefits for the user community. ESA is also responsible for granting access to authorised users to selected data collections from Third Party missions and for related ad-hoc operational activities.
Operational activities for EO data generation and management rely on a flexible and resilient industrial service-based architecture which is in the process of evolving from a rather vertical, mission-specific Payload Data Ground Segments (PDGS) architecture to a single data generation and management environment (the Earth Observation Framework) aimed at maximising operational efficiency through streamlined interfaces while highlighting the uniqueness of each EO science mission thanks to ad-hoc developed elements (notably in the processing and in the data quality domain).

Data Generation and Management services under the responsibility of the Common Services section include:

• User Services (Service Desk) and Information Portal
• Data and Information Management, Discovery and Access services
• Data Archiving, Consolidation and (Re-)Processing services
• Data Preservation services
• Advanced services for the development and processing of collaborative EO products

Reporting to the Head of the Common Services Section, You will be responsible for the preparation, procurement, operations and evolution of one or more data generation and management services within the EO Framework.

EDUCATION

A master’s in a relevant engineering subject (software engineering, data engineering or ICT engineering) is required for this post

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

A PMP/ITIL certification is considered an asset

You should also:

• be able to work effectively and with a good degree of autonomy in an international and interdisciplinary team
• have a high level of motivation and dedication
• demonstrate experience in designing architectures based on modern and scalable ICT cloud-based solutions responding to performance, security and data protection principles applied to operational services
• have an overall system view, and a capacity to propose solutions within a broader, strategic perspective
• demonstrate flexibility in dealing with an evolving EO landscape and its technical and operational challenges

Knowledge of innovative technologies and operational approaches for scientific payload data processing is considered an asset

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• defining service requirements by collecting user needs from different internal stakeholders and customers (Mission Managers / Ground Segment Managers / other Services Managers) and the scientific user community;
• based on the above, identifying gaps and preparing a plan for the evolution of impacted services under your responsibilities, preparing all the required contractual documentation and organising the necessary procurement actions in a way that ensures coherence, standardisation and cost effectiveness;
• managing the services’ implementation, transferring to operations and operational provision in line with the applicable Service Level Agreement, defining and implementing risk mitigation actions whenever necessary;
• providing regular operational, financial and industrial reporting on these services, including statistics reflecting service metrics and user behaviour;
• contributing to the overall Common Services Portfolio by including:
• risk management process specific to the managed services;
• compliance of the service to ESA Security and Data Protection policies;
• compliance with and execution of configuration and change management control processes;
• monitoring and reporting on end-to-end process performance for the entire Earth Observation Framework and proposing consequent areas for improvement.
• generating and maintaining the necessary management, technical and operational documentation;
• contributing actively to the definition and deployment of innovative and scalable technological solutions, notably in the IT domain, and operational concepts within the context of the EO Framework;
• providing metrics, user surveys and/or recommendations from international forums, to support management decision making on the implementation and deployment of appropriate means (e.g. platforms) for data preservation, processing, analysis and sharing;
• assisting the Head of the Common Services Section in other tasks (including audits and support to other projects within and outside the EOP-G Department), as required.