Description

EnVision will be the first mission to investigate Venus from its inner core to its upper atmosphere, characterising the interaction between its different envelopes: its atmosphere, surface/subsurface and interior. It aims to provide a holistic view of the planet, studying its history, activity and climate. EnVision is an ESA-led mission in partnership with NASA, with NASA providing the synthetic aperture radar (VenSAR) and deep space network support for critical mission phases.

EnVision’s science payload consists of the following: VenSAR, a dual polarisation S-band radar also operating as a microwave radiometer and altimeter which will map the surface of Venus; three optical spectrometers (VenSpec-M, VenSpec-U and VenSpec-H) designed to observe the surface and atmosphere of Venus; and the subsurface radar sounder (SRS), a high-frequency (HF) sounding radar that will probe the upper kilometres of subsurface. These are complemented by a radio science investigation exploiting the spacecraft’s telemetry tracking and command (TT&C) system to map the planet’s gravity field and constrain its internal structure, as well as to measure the composition and structure of Venus’ atmosphere.

As PA&S Manager, you will be assigned to the EnVision project in the Projects Department of the Directorate of Science, as integrated support from the parent Product Assurance Management Section, Quality, Dependability and PA Support Division, Product Assurance and Safety Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality. The assignment will take place after an initial period of training and familiarisation with the parent Department’s mandate, processes and procedures.

As EnVision PA&S Manager, you will report to:

• the EnVision Project Manager for project-specific responsibilities and duties;
• the Head of the Product Assurance and Safety Department, through the Head of the Science PA&S Office, for the maintenance of professional standards, the implementation of ESA’s general Product Assurance and Safety policy and contributions to corporate tasks (such as reviews, standardisation, alerts and lessons learned).

Duties

As EnVision PA&S Manager, you will be responsible for:

• establishing and maintaining the PA&S requirements baseline for the EnVision project, in compliance with the general ESA PA&S policy;
• acting as bookcaptain for the programmatic assumptions and requirements document (PARD) for the spacecraft and the instruments, respectively;
• ensuring the implementation of the PA&S requirements by contractors and other supplying parties (e.g. payload teams), supporting milestone reviews and participating in the process of verifying compliance with requirements;
• monitoring the implementation of the approved contractor’s and other supplying parties’ plans and specifications, including by performing quality audits, and ensuring that adequate resources are deployed for the execution of the project PA&S programme;
• participating in the boards for the disposition of deviations from the requirements baseline, and of changes to the agreed design (CCB);
• representing ESA in the boards established for the disposition of non-conformances and anomalies, as well as the definition and monitoring of relevant corrective and preventive actions (NRB), for failure investigations, and for project technical reviews (e.g. TRR, MRR, PTR and TRB);
• guiding and monitoring the procurement of electrical, electronic and electromechanical (EEE) components and of materials, processes and mechanical parts;
• ensuring the execution and implementation of analyses for reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS), including their use to support design trade-off decisions and as a means of verification;
• ensuring the monitoring of the manufacturing, assembly, integration and test activities through mandatory and key inspection points, test witnessing, quality assurance checks, etc;
• conducting the acceptance reviews of all contractual deliverable items;
• reviewing the safety data packages from contractors and other supplying parties, ensuring that they are available on the dates planned with the safety authority, and attending safety reviews and other key events with the safety authority;
• supervising PA&S activities during the launch campaign;
• arranging and coordinating the support provided by experts from the ESA Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality;
• performing any other PA&S tasks necessary to ensure a safe and successful mission.

In the execution of the above tasks, you will be supported by experts from the project team and the ESA Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.

In addition to the Project responsibilities, you will support the Head of the Science PA&S Office for the Directorate of Science’s improvement activities and cross-project coordination, and lay the groundwork for the PA&S requirements of future Science projects.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

You should have a master’s in engineering.

Additional requirements

Proven experience in product assurance and safety support for projects is required, including in coordinating experts from different PA&S disciplines.

In addition, you will be expected to be:

• proactive in helping contractors and other supplying parties establish appropriate PA&S practices;
• willing to work in full coordination with the Project engineering team, for example in defining solutions that are acceptable from a quality perspective and compatible with programmatic constraints;
• capable of managing complex decision-making processes in a fact-based manner while coping with the pressure of dealing with parties holding conflicting positions;
• motivated to deepen your understanding of technical aspects, even if they are not within the scope of PA&S disciplines.