Quality Assurance Specialist

As a member of ESO's Project Management Department you will be responsible for quality assurance within the Directorate of Programmes (DoP) supporting the ELT (Extremely Large telescope) and VLT (Very Large telescope) Instrumentation programmes. You will support various projects in QA aspects to develop and deploy facilities such as telescope infrastructure, scientific instruments and sub-systems to ESO programmes and observatory sites. You will also interact with the different ESO project teams, institutes' consortia and contractors, acting as the QA experts and supporting the teams with the goal to ensure an excellent quality level.

As our Quality Assurance specialist your main duties will range across two domains, providing QA advice and support to projects managed under the DoP with the second domain providing support to the ESO-wide quality management approach.

You will be joining us at a very exciting time, not only in terms of contributing to the very real goals of ensuring completion, commissioning and operation of the ELT but also upgrading instruments connected with the VLT and VLTI (Very Large Telescope Interferometry). You will also be in the forefront as ESO seeks to develop, consolidate and embed its approach to quality management across the organisation

Your main duties and responsibilities are thus outlined as follows:

Directorate of Programmes (DoP) centred work:

• Act as the main QA contact within the project follow up team, proactively providing advice to the project managers in QA related matters.
• Participate in the follow-up of partner institutes, industrial sub-contractors in terms of quality assurance, inspections, supervise failure investigations; this involves regular travelling to production sites in Europe.
• Provide feedback on contractor's QA related documentation (QA plan, FMEA, inspection and test plan, RAMS analysis, manufacturing plan, etc) in formal project reviews - internal, with consortia and contractors;
• Perform formal acceptance of deliverables verifying compliance with ESO QA standards.
• Contribute and maintain requirement definitions for the standards of quality for the various ESO projects;
• Prepare and maintain the projects' QA documentation, e.g. QA; preparation of RfD/RFWs, NCRs and participation in change requests boards;
• Prepare and conduct audits and inspections of the manufacturing at our contractors' premises;
• Manage the NCRs process (corrective and preventive actions, root-cause identifications);
• Participate in the follow-up of partner institutes, sub-contractors in terms of quality assurance, perform quality audits, supervise failure investigations;

Tasks and responsibilities of the role providing support to the ESO-wide quality management approach:

• Providing support to the definition of the product and quality assurance processes at ESO;
• Participating in the implementation and monitoring of the ESO-wide quality management;
• Promoting best practices and continuous improvement;
• Perform internal quality audits.

Reports to:

The Head of the Project Management Department (PMD). As ESO is a matrixed organisation although the Head of the PMD is the functional manager of this position the postholder may be allocated to the different programmes according to the needs.

Key Competences and Experience

We are looking for you to posses a combination of technical and behavioural competencies that will give you the tools you need to succeed in this role.

Essential Competences:

• Understanding for the end user and organisation needs;
• Ability to manage any QA issues for ESO projects in relation with contractors;
• Attention to the details that contribute to requirements;
• Efficient approach with sense of priority and compromise;
• Effective report writing and drafting skills;
• Ability to engage with research institutes and industry in multicultural environment;
• Ability to engage with all stakeholders in a multidisciplinary environment;
• Ability to handle multiple priorities on different projects in parallel.

Essential Experience:

• Five years in the field of Quality Assurance for project development;
• Appropriate technical background in a relevant engineering discipline or physics e.g. electronics, cryogenics or mechanics;

Desirable Experience:

• Relevant professional experience in quality management in project support, preferably related to prototype development, science-related projects
• Background in RAM, Safety, Configuration control is an asset.

Qualifications

Education (Qualifications):

Essential:

• University degree in Engineering or Physics, or an equivalent educational level;
• Training or Certification in relation with Quality Assurance toward project management

Desirable:

• Training in RAM analyses, Safety and/or Configuration Control is beneficial.

Language skills:

Fluency in English is essential. Knowledge of other languages such as Spanish, German or French is considered an asset.

Remuneration and Contract:

We offer an attractive remuneration package including a competitive salary, comprehensive pension scheme and medical, educational and other social benefits, as well as financial help in relocating your family and support to place your child/children in daycare.

Our Salary Structure

ESO's salary structure is based upon a range of career paths which reflect the nature and level of our jobs. Each career path is made up of two or three grades which are used to further reflect experience.

Please follow this attached link for more details https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/intstaff/salary-structure/

ESO aims to support members of personnel in maintaining a good work-life balance (https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/intstaff/#work-life-balance) between their professional and private life. ESO is also committed to offering family-friendly support (https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/intstaff/#family-friendly-support), creating a work environment and policies which allow staff to balance their professional and private responsibilities through flexible working arrangements and financial support for families.

The contract is for a fixed term duration of three years and is subject to successful completion of the probation period. There may be a possibility of extension(s) subject to individual performance and organisational requirements, and as defined in the applicable policies and staff rules and regulations. For any further information, please visit ESO's conditions of employment (https://www.eso.org/public/jobs/conditions/). Please note that the contract policy and in particular the regulations concerning fixed-term and indefinite contracts are currently under review which may lead to changes in the contractual conditions applicable to this position.

Duty Station:

Garching near Munich, Germany with regular duty trips to all ESO sites in Chile

Career Path: V

Application:

If you are interested in working in areas of frontline science and technology and in a stimulating international environment, please visit http://www.eso.org for further details.

Applicants are invited to apply online at http://jobs.eso.org/. Applications must be completed in English and should include a motivation letter and CV. Within your CV, please provide the names and contact details of three persons familiar with your work and willing to provide a recommendation letter upon request. Referees will not be contacted without your prior consent.

Deadline for applications is 10 Februray 2024.

Interviews are expected to start soon after this date.

ESO Values

An important element in any successful employment relationship is harmony in values between an organisation and its people.

The ESO Values are:

ESO strives for excellence through innovation.

ESO provides outstanding services to its communities.

ESO fosters diversity & inclusion.

ESO believes in the key role of sustainability for its future.

Achieving the above are recognized as only possible on the basis of personal values and attitudes that we expect from our employees: respect, integrity, accountability, commitment, collaboration, and clear & open communication.

Applicants to any ESO role are asked to reflect on their affinity with these values and advised they may be asked about them if called for interview.

Diversity

ESO has established diversity as an important value of the Organisation, is committed to providing an equal opportunities environment and is actively seeking to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce. Please visit https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/sustainability/dei-at-eso/ for further details.

Nationality

No nationality is in principle excluded from employment at ESO, however, recruitment preference will be given to nationals of our Member States, host states and strategic partners: Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Chile, irrespective of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religion.