Ground Operations Engineer (m/f/d)

Oberpfaffenhofen

Published: 2025-05-20

Ground Operations Engineer (m/f/d), 1. image

Ground Operations Engineer (m/f/d), 2. image

DLR GfR mbH is a company providing reliable, safe and secure aerospace services. We operate and manage the constellation of Galileo satellites in the Galileo Control Center Oberpfaffenhofen on behalf of the European Commission.
Our company headquarters is located in an area widely known as a holiday destination - the five-lakes region in Upper Bavaria near Munich. At the space industry location in Oberpfaffenhofen, our around 300 employees work every day in international and interdisciplinary teams on the navigation for the future. Become a part of us!

YOUR MISSION:

Five minutes to the first contact with the next satellites to join the Galileo Constellation. The satellites have just launched from French Guyana. You are in the Galileo Control Room with a full project team. Everyone is now sitting on the edge of their seats. You are manning the consoles managing the entire Galileo Control Segment, one of the biggest satellite ground segments in the world with a global reach. Everyone is waiting for you. Suddenly, rows of data stream across your screen. A quick check to confirm everything is on track. You then announce over the voice loop, “All stations, we have Acquisition of Signal”.This is just a small glimpse into the life of a Ground Operations Engineer at Galileo. With the Galileo constellation continuing to develop and grow, you will become part of a multinational team which will operate and provide engineering support for the Galileo Control Segment. This will include routine activities to support 26 satellites currently in orbit, preparation and execution for the next Galileo satellite launches and upgrade of the system to enhance the Galileo services. You will be primarily based in Germany but the activities will also include a chance to work at our sister Control Centre in Italy.

As a Ground Operations Engineer you will be offered the unique opportunity to:

Partcipate in Europe’s flagship project
Work in an international environment
Help deliver a service which reaches across the entire world
Prove yourself in a challenging engineering environment
Enjoy room to grow, develop and constantly learn

Your mission will be to become a fully productive member of the Ground Operations Team and to ensure the smooth operation of the Galileo Control System (GCS) across both control centres in Germany and Italy. You will actively support the Galileo mission by participating in a diverse range of activities providing engineering support to the shift team, joining talented multi-disciplinary teams for Special Operations, validating new Ground Procedures and supervising and testing new system deployments. You will be exposed to all mission phases (LEOP, IOT, and Routine). Your talents, skills and dedication will make a difference in the following areas:

Operations preparation:

Prepare/support/execute system, segment and element operation validation activities
Develop/review/update Operations Plans and Operations Concept documents
Update and maintain control of Ground and Secure Operations Procedures
Ensure/support database preparation, coordination, synchronization and verification

Operations planning and coordination:

Take part in the planning and coordination of activities
Provide planning inputs and execution feedback for Ground Operations activities

Operations execution/support:

Monitoring, control ground control segment during the LEOP phase, one of the most critical phase of a satellite mission
Take over a ground or secure operations position on-console and on-call
Provide support to ground segment users for preparation or execution operations activities
Monitor performance of ground services and trigger corrective actions
Handle incidents and anomaly (writing, processing, supporting review boards) according to KPI
Prepare/support/execute software engineering activities
Interface with ground segment external entities for data exchange and service outage troubleshooting
Provide supplementary support to Shift Lead and Special Operations
Take over on-call duty to provide Ground Operations
Support 24/7 Support KPI data collection and reporting

Operations development:

Take part in Ground Operations processes (e.g. planning, reporting, anomaly escalation, milestone reviews)
Provide support for the progressive automation of Constellation Operations
Provide Engineer Support to assess Galileo Control Segment enhancements/modifications
Provide inputs to enhancement of operations processes

Training:

Maintain and develop subject matter expert (SME) training material

YOUR QUALIFICATION:

Master´s degree in telecommunications, aerospace engineering, informatics or equivalent
Experience in ground system operations preparation engineering and execution, ILS or Maintenance
Knowledge of navigation ground segment such as EGNOS or Galileo
Comfortable using Linux
An advanced level of English is mandatory
Willingness to support on-call and shift duties

OUR OFFER:

Work-Life-Balance, e.g., through flexible working time models and mobile office options
30 days annual leave and additional days off on 24.12., 31.12. and Shrove Tuesday
Trusting and appreciative cooperation as well as international Teamspirit
Employer-financed retirement plan
Access to LinkedIn Learning
Access to corporate benefits platform
JobRad (company bike leasing)
Membership with EGYM Wellpass (corporate fitness)
Supplementary company health insurance