Space Software Engineer (Junior)

Are you looking for a new opportunity to take your career to a higher orbit? To join an international group with a successful track record in Space Engineering? A job adapted to your career ambitions and in which you could have an impact for the years to come?

We are looking for a Space Software Engineer to join our team at the European Space Agency's ESAC premises in Madrid, Spain.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to participate in the software engineering service that supports the development and maintenance of the Science Archives at the ESDC (ESAC Science Data Centre) and be involved in projects such as SafePlace, focused on enhancing resilience and safety in space operations.

About the client and location

The European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) is the European Space Agency's (ESA) base in Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, Spain. ESAC is responsible for all of ESA's research into astronomy and solar system exploration, as well as being the location of ESA's space telescope. It is from here that archives are stored on ESA's science missions, which are then made accessible for researchers all around the world.

Tasks and activities

The scope of work will include:

• Design, develop, deploy, operate and maintain any of the ESDC Science Archives and Virtual Observatory (VO) subsystems:
• Support the analysis of user requirements and work on the design and modelling of archive databases and archive data models.
• Archive applications and data.
• Archive interoperability systems, or programmatic access, supported by VO standards.
• Archive administration services (monitoring, statistics, reporting, user management, etc.).
• VO tools and services.
• Integration in and across all the ESDC archives of common infrastructure, tool and science data visualization, enabling the maximum exploitation of the data.
• Software configuration control activities associated with archive development
• Contribute to prepare and maintain necessary documentation following engineering standards as ECSS.
• Support the development, testing and deployment of advanced data services for crisis management of wildfires (using satellite imagery, LLMs, etc.).

Skills and experience

The following skills and experience are mandatory:

• University Degree or equivalent in a relevant engineering field.
• Knowledge or experience in JAVA.
• Knowledge or experience in Web technologies (http, apache, tomcat ).
• Desire to work both autonomously and as part of a team, in an international multicultural environment.
• Solution oriented mindset, with a customer focused communication skill.
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken.

The following skills and experience/knowledge would be highly desirable:

• Python.
• User Interface development with Javascript (Angular or React).
• Relational databases (mainly PostgreSQL and Oracle), DB management software (DB Administration).
• SQL and XML.
• Distributed Databases (Greenplum).
• Virtualisation.
• Agile software development and continuous integration.

Why should you apply?

• You will have the opportunity to work within leading space organisations across Europe.
• We encourage everyone to think outside the box and to push the boundaries of traditional knowledge. This role is an opportunity to join a forward-thinking company and allows for a deeper understanding of the industry.
• To be part of a company that values integrity, inspiration, care and collaboration.
• Benefits include: competitive remuneration packages; unique career opportunities, including working in other countries; access to training and development programmes; flexible relocation support.

We welcome applications from people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, all genders, LGBTQ+ individuals and ex-service personnel.

About Starion

Starion is one of two new legal entities rebranded from the RHEA Group, focused on space consultancy and space engineering services and solutions. Starion provides engineering expertise and solutions for space, defence and other critical infrastructures across Europe, pushing the boundaries of innovation. Our teams work on world-leading space projects that deliver the pioneering missions that provide us with the information and technologies we use today.

Starion offers over three decades of expertise in professional engineering services, developing and operating systems and solutions tailored to our clients' needs. By combining space and system engineering with established and emerging technologies, such as AI and quantum, we produce innovative solutions that make a fundamental difference for our clients and for society.

Starion employees are located across Europe, close to our clients' offices, enabling us to be responsive and agile. Our engineers and researchers are among the most trusted and respected in the industry, helping build space-based solutions that address major challenges on Earth such as civil security, climate change and deforestation.

How to apply

Looking to take your career to the next level or find out more details about this opportunity? Interested applicants should submit their CV and Cover Letter to Starion's Recruitment team at no later than 30 May 2025.

Preference will be given to candidates eligible for an EU or national personal security clearance at the level of CONFIDENTIAL or above.