Space Weather Products & Applications Scientist

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 currently looking for a Space Weather Products & Applications Scientist to work at ESOC’s premises in Darmstadt, Germany.

You will provide scientific and technical support in the development, validation, evolution, and operation of Space Weather services. The successful candidate will act as a technical interface between scientific experts, software and data system teams, industrial contractors, and end users, ensuring that space weather services, applications, data products, and supporting infrastructures meet operational and user requirements.

The role requires a combination of scientific expertise in space weather, experience with operational service development, systems engineering practices, requirements management, data modelling, software validation, and stakeholder coordination.

Tasks and activities

The scope of work will include:

• Acting as a space weather subject matter expert, providing technical support to the definition, evolution, and implementation of services and products.
• Gathering, analysing, and consolidating user requirements and use cases from stakeholders, workshops, training events, and service users, translating them into system and service requirements.
• Supporting the definition and review of system architectures, service roadmaps, work plans, requirements documentation, product specifications, and data models.
• Contributing to the development, maintenance, and implementation of metadata schemas and information models for space weather data.
• Supporting the testing, verification, validation, and acceptance of software applications, data services, and industrial deliverables, including the identification, tracking, and resolution of non-conformances.
• Monitoring service performance and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), supporting operational readiness activities, and contributing to continuous service improvement.
• Providing technical input to the definition of international space weather standards, interoperability approaches, and data exchange mechanisms.
• Participating in technical reviews, network assessments, workshops, and service development activities as an appointed space weather expert.
• Preparing technical documentation, review material, and regular progress reports summarising activities, findings, and recommendations.
• Interacting with different stakeholders, customers and industry partners.

Skills and experience

The following skills and experience are mandatory:

• University degree (Master’s level, preferably PhD) in Space Physics, Solar Physics, Astrophysics, Geophysics, Atmospheric Physics, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, or a related scientific or engineering discipline.
• Minimum 4 years of professional experience in space weather, heliophysics, solar-terrestrial physics, upper atmosphere studies, geomagnetism, or closely related scientific domains.
• Demonstrated experience in the development, operation, validation, or evolution of scientific or operational space weather services.
• Background in requirements engineering, including user requirement elicitation, use-case definition, requirements analysis, traceability, and specification development.
• Expertise in supporting software or data system development projects, including testing, validation, acceptance, and deployment activities.
• Experience reviewing technical deliverables and coordinating technical activities with external contractors or industrial teams.
• Knowledge in preparing technical reports, specifications, validation reports, and review documentation.
• Experience interacting with multidisciplinary teams composed of scientists, software developers, system engineers, operators, and external stakeholders.
• Proven ability to support workshops, training activities, outreach events, and user engagement activities.
• Ability to engage effectively with scientific users, operational stakeholders, industrial partners, and software development teams.
• Strong analytical, organisational, and reporting skills.
• Authorised to work in Germany

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 are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all candidates, irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

As part of our commitment to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process, we will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process.