Head of Mechanical, Thermal & Propulsion Architecture Unit

Description

Head of the Mechanical, Thermal and Propulsion Architect Unit in the Mechanical Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.

The Unit gathers multidisciplinary subsystem architects who act as the focal points for all matters related to Mechanical, Thermal, and Propulsion subsystems in ESA projects. They ensure compliance, coordination and technical leadership across all project phases, from design and development to launch and operations.

The Unit covers the following technical domains end-to-end:

• Mechanical, Thermal, and Propulsion (MTP) systems engineering.
• Definition, maintenance, and control of technical requirements for mechanical, thermal, and propulsion subsystems.
• Design, procurement, development, and validation of subsystem components across the entire project lifecycle.
• System budgets management and risk mitigation actions tailored to subsystem responsibilities.
• Support to AIV (Assembly, Integration, and Verification) programmes and system-level verification activities.
• Flight operations and LEOP & commissioning support for mechanical, thermal, and propulsion systems.
• Expertise in ground testing and launch campaign preparation, including MGSE support and implementation in the MTP domain.

The Head of Unit will play a critical strategic and operational role, representing the interface between the Mechanical Department and ESA projects.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

Workload assessment and assignment:

• Establishing the (multi-year) plan of activities for the Unit, covering required competences and assignment of resources;
• Establishing annual objectives and managing/coordinating on a day-to-day basis specialised technical support in the domains of mechanical, thermal and propulsion subsystems, in full collaboration with the functional managers;
• Actively contributing to increasing the agility/flexibility required to meet the short-notice and peak-period resource needs of projects;
• Being accountable for all activities and resources delegated to the Unit, and for resolving possible conflicting demands on the use of the Unit's resources.
   

Talent management:

• Maintaining state-of-the-art expertise in the Unit – identifying, developing, maintaining and tracking the technical competences needed to meet current and future strategic needs;
• Establishing individual talent management (competence and development) plans for the Unit's members, covering technical and behavioural aspects;
• Collaborating with functional managers whenever needed;
• Establishing proper mechanisms to guarantee the technical disciplines expertise is delivered in a project-ready, decision-oriented, and pragmatically impactful manner, fully aligned with the operational needs and timelines of ESA projects; 
• Driving the development of people within your area of responsibility, facilitating the development of people beyond your area of responsibility, and encouraging mobility when it serves the organisation's interests;
• Encouraging the integration of newcomers and contributing to their initial development plans, in particular in the first three years of their contract;
• Ensuring that the critical skills and competences required by current and future projects are reflected in hiring and training strategy; 
• Managing staff functional mobility and changes (arrivals, departures, reassignments, probation and contract extensions) with minimum disruption to the activities of the Unit.
   

Support management:

• Monitoring, measuring and reporting on performance at individual and team level, in particular regarding the Unit's objectives;
• Being accountable to the hierarchy for all the daily matters within the Unit and for the achievement of the Unit's objectives;
• Ensuring proper coordination with the TEC/Programme Directorates Business Partners Function;
• Representing the Section in the TEC-M Management Meeting, alongside Division Heads and Lead Engineers in the Department; 
• Being accountable for the Unit members' career management, as well as for performing individual performance assessments and merit recognition exercises, and for providing regular feedback.

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Provision of expertise: management of tools, processes and working method

• Ensuring regular interaction between the Section members, supporting teamwork, the exchange of experience and lessons learned and the gathering of feedback;
• Contributing to the continuous improvement of working procedures, tools, processes, expert working methods and delivery methods (lessons learned, knowledge management) and to the reflection on the evolution of the Section’s role and activities;
• Contributing to the (independent) technical assessment capability and supporting project reviews;
• Representing the Agency in your area(s) of expertise within ESA and with external entities, such as industry and delegations;
• Coordinating the dissemination of the Section’s results within and beyond ESA, in particular through conferences, workshops and R&D presentation days.

R&D technology management:

• In line with anticipated technology trends and programme directorate needs, defining, promoting and implementing the Section’s contributions to ESA technology programmes and R&D activities;
• Coordinating, where applicable, the requirements of technology elements in your domain of expertise with the overall requirements of systems being developed under the responsibility of other areas in the Directorate;
• Liaising with relevant technology expert groups and coordination mechanisms.

General management and leadership:

• Ensuring a positive and motivating working environment for the Section;
• Driving a culture of visibility, mentoring and inspiration, promoting excellence, communication and cross-disciplinary collaboration across the Department and the programme directorates;
• Communicating ESA values and ensuring compliance with all ESA policies;
• Representing the Section when brokering agreements with other parties and actively encouraging cross-unit cooperation;
• Anticipating and resolving sensitive or difficult situations, detecting and managing health and safety issues, and liaising with HR as required;
• Establishing good working relationships and technical networks with users, project groups and other organisations both inside and outside the Agency;
• Reporting to high-level management and flowing down communication from management.

You will also be responsible for identifying, assessing, managing and reporting the health and safety risks in your area of responsibility.

Due to the inherently multidisciplinary nature of the Unit, you will be required to ensure proper coordination and collaboration with the other sections and experts in the Directorate from all relevant disciplines.

Roles and responsibilities are subject to further evolution within the framework of the ESA Transformation.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

For more information, please refer to the ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

A master’s degree in physics or engineering is required for this post. 
A PhD and/or hands-on experience in space hardware development is an asset.

Additional requirements

• Solid experience in relation to the technical domains of the Unit, as well as in the management of highly operational units.
• Demonstrated experience in relevant fields of design and technology development.

You should also have:

• the potential to manage individuals or a team of experts in a project setting;
• the ability to organise individual and team activities and ensure a motivating work environment;
• strong leadership capabilities, with proven relationship management and communication skills;
• the ability to drive your team’s performance, developing your people by encouraging learning, delegating responsibility and giving regular and constructive feedback;
• strong problem-solving skills to deal with day-to-day operational challenges, together with demonstrated planning and organisational skills;
• a strong result 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.

People management experience is an asset, as is international experience, i.e. outside your home country, as well as experience in diverse functional areas relevant to ESA activities.