Next Generation Gravity Mission NGGM Spacecraft and AIT Manager

Description

Following the successes of the GRACE and GOCE missions, ESA and NASA established an international cooperation over a decade ago to jointly develop an Earth gravity monitoring mission, considering that next-level user needs extended beyond what was achievable by a single Agency. The goal was to achieve what is today referred to as MAGIC - the “Mass change And Geosciences International Constellation”. The Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM) is ESA’s contribution to the ESA-NASA MAGIC constellation, and is currently undergoing a Phase B system design consolidation study within the FutureEO-1 Programme.

The objective of MAGIC is the long-term accurate monitoring of the temporal variations of Earth’s gravity field at high resolution in time (down to 3 days) and in space. MAGIC will observe Earth mass change and reinforce services in hydrology, cryosphere, oceanography, solid Earth, climate change and geodesy. The observables are the variations of the distance between two satellites, measured by a laser interferometer with sub-nanometre precision, and non-gravitational accelerations, to be separated from the gravity signal in the data processing, measured by accelerometers on each satellite.

MAGIC will be composed of two pairs of satellites. The first pair, P1 (i.e. GRACE-C), is being implemented via a fast-paced US-German cooperation programme, maximising heritage from GRACE-FO, to ensure continuity of observations. Grace-C is at CDR stage. The second pair of satellites, P2 (i.e. NGGM), is to be implemented by ESA, in cooperation with NASA for science, exchange of data between both pairs and generation of combined MAGIC Level-2 and Level-3 products. P2 will provide strong enhancement of the quality of the observations from both pairs and will be launched in an inclined orbit at a 400 km altitude to form a “quasi Bender” Constellation, with a target launch date allowing to maintain at least 4 years of combined operations with GRACE-C. The satellites will embark (i) an optical instrument for precise interferometric inter-satellite laser ranging and Line of Sight (LoS) tracking; (ii) an ultra-sensitive accelerometer; (iii) a precise orbit determination package including a GNSS instrument and laser retro-reflectors; (iv) a complex electrical propulsion system made of RF Ion Thruster, Hollow cathode neutralizer, RF generator and Flow control unit to allow a drag free AOCS to compensate for the atmospheric drag; and (v) a set of linear cold gas thrusters for attitude and orbit control.

As NGGM Satellite and Engineering Manager, you will report to the NGGM Project Manager. You will be in charge of functionally leading and coordinating support from other engineers working on the project and specialised technical support from the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC). 

Duties

The NGGM Satellite and Engineering Manager is in charge of the NGGM Satellite pair procurement and the satellite design, development and verification including the coordination of all engineering disciplines within the NGGM project. Your principal tasks and responsibilities will include the following:

• preparing, evaluating and negotiating phases B2CDE1 of the complete NGGM satellite procurement for platform aspects and all engineering disciplines;
• bearing responsibility for the complete B2CDE1 phases (design, development up to and including launch campaign and commissioning) of the two platforms and satellites, ensuring the timely availability of validated flight hardware for launch; 
• bearing responsibility for the design and timely procurement of the two spacecraft subsystems, including structure, thermal, propulsion, mechanisms, power (generation and storage) and avionics (AOCS, data handling and communications);
• ensuring coordination and consistency of approach across major engineering disciplines for the NGGM satellite (platform and payload), including:
  • structural and mechanical engineering;
  • thermal engineering;
  • mechanisms;
  • propulsion subsystem;
  • power and harness engineering;
  • electrical design engineering;
  • data handling subsystem;
  • telecommunications engineering;
  • electromagnetic compatibility and RF compatibility engineering; 
• coordinating closely with other section heads to ensure consistency of platforms, payloads (laser and accelerometer), subsystem and equipment requirements, and interfaces;
• coordinating closely with other section heads to ensure consistency of the drag-free AOCS hardware development at satellite level with the mission needs;
• assessing and reviewing the satellite architecture, design and verification, including identification and analysis of design drivers, options for cost/schedule optimisation, etc.;
• ensuring the early definition and specification of GSE and test facilities for the satellite, taking particular care to identify potential schedule conflicts with other programmes, if re-use/sharing of GSE from other satellites is proposed by the industrial contractor;
• monitoring platform and satellite procurement industrial work, ensuring the timely resolution of any engineering-related non-conformance or anomaly involving appropriate expert support for timely resolution;
• monitoring and review of AIT/AIV activities at satellite level to ensure their timely completeness for the NGGM satellite;
• reviewing the schedule critical path, instigating timely corrective and/or recovery actions where necessary;
• supervising the definition and evolution of all engineering budgets and satellite interfaces, ensuring coherence with the payload interface and launcher constraints;
• ensuring coherence and compatibility between satellite design and launcher interface definition;
• coordinating the launcher interface definition for the NGGM launch and procurement of the launch service including the launcher adapter; 
• preparing and managing the launch campaign;
• supporting general project reporting tasks (weekly flash, monthly, QSR);
• supporting the building and  – later on – lead of the Satellite and Engineering team, including the definition of day-to-day tasks and objectives as well as the setting of annual performance objectives and their assessment (including training needs), ensuring staff motivation and commitment to the Project's goal.

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

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

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

Education

A Master’s degree in a relevant engineering discipline is required for this post.

Additional requirements

You should further have:

• The potential to manage individuals or a multi-functional team; The ability to organise their 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;
• 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.
• In addition, familiarity with MBSE (Model Based System Engineering) method and techniques is considered an asset.