Space Data Archive Software Engineer

Aurora is an established supplier of skilled manpower to ESA and in particular at ESTEC and ESAC.

We are looking for a Space Data Archive Software Engineer to join our team at ESA’s ESAC premises in Madrid, Spain.

Happiness of our employees has proven key to obtaining excellent results obtaining favorable recognition from clients who value our top-notch service delivery.

Overview

In this role, you will have the opportunity to contribute to the software engineering service that supports the development and maintenance of the Science Archives at the ESDC (ESAC Science Data Centre) for various space missions across the sub-areas of Planetary, Astronomy, Survey, Heliophysics, Human, Robotics, and Exploration.

The scope of work will include:

• Design, develop, deploy, operate and maintain any of the ESDC Science Archives and Virtual Observatory (VO) subsystems:
  • Archive Data ingestion and metadata extraction systems;
  • Archive application servers and middle tier services;
  • Archive Web applications;
  • Archive Data distribution systems;
  • Archive interoperability systems, or programmatic access, supported by VO standards;
  • Archive administration services (monitoring, statistics, reporting, user management…);
  • Archive data products on-line visualization (images, spectra) and analysis services;
  • VO tools and services;
  • Integration in and across all the ESDC archives of common infrastructure, tools and science data visualization, enabling the maximum exploitation of the data.
• Software configuration control activities associated with archive development.
• Assist in preparing and maintaining essential documentation in accordance with engineering standards such as ECSS.
• Engagement in working groups, workshops, conferences, and meetings focused on discussing science archives and virtual observatory standards and practices
• Provide technical support to archives and VO services usage.
• Interaction with the broader international community of astronomers and users through workshops and the helpdesk.
• Interactions with ESA partners (such as Canadian and NASA teams, JAXA, etc.).

Specific qualification requirements

• Master’s degree in a relevant field, with at least 4 years of proven experience.
• Experience in JAVA, Javascript (Angular).
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken.
• Familiarity with Web technologies (http, Apache, tomcat, Web services, etc.).
• Experience in relational databases (mainly PostgreSQL and Oracle), DB management software (DB Administration).
• Competence in SQL and XML.
• Experience in Unit, Integration, System and End to End testing (such as Junit, Jasmine, Cucumber, Selenium, Cypress).
• 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.

The following skills and experience would be highly desirable:

• Proficiency in Python.
• Experience in Distributed Databases.
• Competence in virtualisation technologies.
• Experience with Agile software development and continuous integration practices.

Legal and Security Requirements

• All applicants must be legally allowed to work in Spain without the need to obtain a work visa. Only European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) and SWISS citizens can be employed by Aurora in Spain.
• Applicants are required to provide a copy of their passport and degree certificate. Aurora will validate the Degree with the issuing University.
• In line with ESA’s security requirements, prior to issuing a letter of employment the applicant shall provide to Aurora a recent official document declaring that they are of good conduct from the country where currently resident, and Aurora will validate your employment history

Location

The work will be performed at the ESAC, the European Space Astronomy Centre at Villafranca del Castillo, near Madrid (Spain).

Employment Contract

• This is a temporary position for one year.
• The selected candidate will receive good remuneration.
• You will be registered for both social security and tax in Spain.
• The standard working hours are 40 per week. There are 12 public holidays and an additional 30 annual days holiday.
• In addition to public health services Aurora provides private medical insurance in Spain (the inclusion into the private health insurance policy is at the discretion of the insurance provider).
• Training to improve efficiency and provide strength for future career are of course included.
• Aurora can assist financially and provide recent experience information for relocation.

To be considered for this position

Prior to 10 July 2025 , please apply via our Job Application form quoting SCO-08 as reference.

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