The European Space Agency maintains a world-leading Science Programme with missions in heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics and fundamental physics. Its mission is to ”empower Europe to lead space science”.

The Science 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, develops the science operation systems for the missions and operates the missions in space, and archives and curates their data during operations and beyond. Its main objective is to maximise the scientific output of the missions for the benefit of humankind.

You will be assigned as Science Operations Scientist, initially for the Gaia mission, under the direct responsibility of the Mission Manager in the Mission Management and Science Operations Division within SCI-S.

Gaia will end its operational life in the first half of 2025, after which the mission’s post-operations phase will begin. Four highly successful data releases (DRs) have been achieved so far, all of which were major, transformational events for the astronomical world. A fifth release, DR4, is currently being prepared for publication in 2026, and a final release, DR5, is expected to conclude the mission by the end of the decade. Gaia has a relatively long post-operations phase of five and a half years, reflecting the complexity of turning the basic observation data from 10.5 years of science operations into legacy data products of the highest quality.

During the mission post-operations phase, you will be responsible for:

You will work as a member of the Gaia SOC and in close collaboration with:

You will be expected to strive for innovation and excellence in your specific responsibilities, which will initially include the above tasks with a strong focus on the post-operations phase of the Gaia missions. Your role will later evolve into that of a Science Operations Scientist for an operational mission or mission in development.

Active researcher in a relevant field of space science

Experience in coordinating internal or external stakeholders on scientific projects

Experience in scientific data processing, preferably in space science or a related field

Proficiency in the Java and/or Python programming languages

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

A Ph D in astronomy or physics is required for this post.

The following would be additional assets:

Applicants must be eligible to access technology and hardware which is subject to European and US export control regulations.