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Working at ESO
Are you interested in working in areas of frontline technology and in a stimulating international environment? Do you feel your profile matches our requirements? Learn more about our current vacancies and apply online. Read more..
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries.
ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in northern Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor (home to ALMA and APEX), and the ESO Headquarters are located in Garching, near Munich, Germany.
At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, and will host and operate the southern array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, the world's largest and most sensitive high energy gamma-ray observatory. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky" and whose operations will be fully integrated into the Paranal Observatory.
For its IT Department in the IT Architecture Group in Garching, within the Directorate of Engineering, ESO is opening a Local Staff Member position of:
ESO's IT landscape is undergoing a broad digital transformation to modernise and improve its operations. A major focus of this effort is the Integrated Operations Programme, which is going to transform operations for the VLT and the upcoming ELT at the Paranal Observatory. In this context, DevOps Engineers play a key role in automating and streamlining software delivery and infrastructure management - supporting the deployment, performance, and reliability of mission-critical applications as part of ESO's digital transformation.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with IT and software development teams to support application modernization, automation, and adoption of DevOps practices across the organisation.
- Design, implement, and maintain CI/CD pipelines using GitLab and Jenkins to streamline and standardize software delivery.
- Support developers with version control, deployment tooling, and integration of monitoring and observability solutions.
- Automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration on various Linux-based systems using infrastructure-as-code and configuration management tools and scripting.
- Contribute to the maintenance and evolution of hybrid infrastructure, including on-premise and cloud environments, using infrastructure-as-code tools.
- Participate in operational improvements and contribute ideas for optimizing service reliability, cost, and scalability.
- Document infrastructure, deployment processes, and operational procedures to ensure sustainability and knowledge sharing.
- Operate in an international, multi-site environment, fostering collaboration, reliability, and continuous improvement.
Reports to:
Head of IT Architecture Group of the Information Technology Department within the Directorate of Engineering.
Key competences and Experience:
Essential:
- 2+ years of experience in software delivery in hybrid (on-premise and cloud) environments
- 2+ years of experience in system administration or infrastructure engineering in hybrid environments
- Strong experience with Linux system administration (preferably RHEL/CentOS)
- Solid understanding and hands-on experience with CI/CD pipeline design and implementation (e.g., GitLab CI, Jenkins)
- Practical experience with configuration management and automation tools (e.g., Ansible, Puppet, or similar)
- Strong scripting skills in Bash, Python, or similar languages
- Solid understanding and hands-on experience with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker) and orchestration fundamentals
- Familiarity with version control and collaborative software development systems (e.g., GitLab, BitBucket, GitHub)
- Familiarity with Git-based version control, including branching, merging and conflict resolution
- Experience in monitoring, logging, and observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, or TIG stacks)
- Experience deploying or supporting applications in a production environment
- Basic understanding of networking concepts (DNS, routing, firewalls, etc.)
- Ability to troubleshoot complex systems involving legacy and modern components
Desirable:
- Experience modernizing legacy applications and infrastructure (e.g., introducing automation, CI/CD, or containerization into existing systems)
- Experience integrating on-premise systems with cloud infrastructure (e.g., hybrid deployments, cloud gateways)
- Familiarity with infrastructure as code tools (e.g., Terraform, Cloudformation, Pulumi)
- Experience with VMware, KVM, or other virtualization platforms
- Exposure to cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Oracle, GCP), even if not in production-scale environments
- Knowledge of software development lifecycle practices and methodologies (e.g., Agile, DevSecOps)
- Understanding of security best practices for infrastructure and software deployment
- Basic knowledge of project management practices (e.g. Agile, Kanban)
- Strong consulting, negotiation skills and ability to work within diverse teams and key stakeholders both internal and external to the organization
Qualifications:
A university degree or equivalent in relevant disciplines, e.g. data science, computer science, engineering is required.
Language Skills:
ESO is an international organization where the official language is English. The position requires excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
Remuneration and Contract:
We offer an attractive remuneration package including a competitive salary and educational benefits, as well as financial help in relocating the candidate's family, where applicable. ESO aims to support members of personnel in maintaining a good work-life balance. The initial contract is for a period of two years with the possibility of indefinite extension, subject to performance evaluation. The title or grade may be subject to change according to qualification and the number of years of experience. For further information, please visit https://www.eso.org/public/archives/static/jobs/conditions/brochure-lsm-updated-jan2020.pdf
Duty Station:
ESO premises in Vitacura, Santiago de Chile, and the Paranal Observatory, located 120 km south of the city of Antofagasta, Chile. The working schedule will be 75% in Vitacura, with 5x2 shifts, and 25% at the Paranal Observatory with 5x2 shifts, with the option of mobile working within our corresponding framework. These percentages may vary depending on operational requirements, so some flexibility is expected. Regular duty travel to the ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany is also expected.
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 https://recruitment.eso.org/. Your application should be in English and include your curriculum vitae (CV) and a letter of motivation. All interviews will be conducted in English.
Deadline for applications is 22 August 2025.
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.
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 excluded, however non-Chilean applicants must have a pertinent working permit, according to Chilean regulations, at the time of the application. The post is equally open to suitably qualified candidates irrespective of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religion.