System Engineer for ISS Experiment Integration & Operations, Friedrichshafen

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2015, it generated revenues of €64.5 billion and employed a workforce of around 136,600. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as Europe’s number one space enterprise and the world’s second largest space business. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civiland military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.

Tasks & accountabilities

Airbus is preparing the on-orbit operations of two Fluid Science Experiments on-board the International Space Station (ISS). As part of the project core team the System Engineer for ISS Experiment Integration & Operations will prepare and implement the integration between Columbus Fluid Science Lab Rack Facility and the Experiment Insert.

Your main tasks and responsibilities will include:

• Interface engineering between experiments and rack facility
• Developing and testing of experiment protocol scripts for the execution of the fluid science experiments
• Development and testing experiment specific command & telemetry data base
• Coordinating preparation of ground operational procedure with user support center
• Prepare input for crew procedures for on-orbit installation of experiment insert on the ISS
• Working together in a team with rack level integration and facility operators to validate all mission assets before launch of the experiment flight hardware
• Setup ground infrastructure for facility and experiment engineering support
• Define architecture, coordinate development of data processing tools for scientific data products
• Coordination with cargo integration for launch logistics including bench-review process for hardware hand-over to cargo integrator and launch authority
• Support real-time operation ground control team with experiment specific consultancy in order to resolve on orbit operational problems
• Analyze problems by post-processing of telemetry data streams, support failure isolation and propose recovery actions
• Propose, coordinate and validate procedure and software updates in order to recover hardware and software problems
• Working together with the ground operators at the User Support Center in Belgium for the real-time operation of the experiments during on-orbit commissioning phase

This role will involve some travel for business and as such you must be able to travel accordingly.

Required skills

We are looking for candidates with the following skills and experience:

• University degree in Engineering, Physics or similar and a minimum of 3 to 5 years of work experience
• Knowledge of Fluid Physics experiments, e.g. from independent experimental work in relevant research fields, possibly as part of a PhD or doctorate
• Systems engineering experience, preferably with knowledge of the operation of scientific payloads, with a focus on Integration Engineering and on-orbit operation for Human Space Flight
• Experience in system testing of integrated systems together with ground segment
• First Knowledge of the requirements for the operation of experimental equipment in the ISS would be an asset
• Experience of producing technical documentation in English, such as test and operational procedures, operational handbooks & inputs for crew procedures
• Knowledge of ISS operating environment including strategies for automations by experiment protocols
• Experience in system validation to achieve launch readiness
• Team player in multinational working environment, independent way of working, as well as an open and targeted communication style
• A negotiation level of English is required; a good level of German would be a plus, basic knowledge of French is helpful