Director of Space Operations

About the role

The European Space Agency (ESA) seeks a strategic leader to head its Directorate of Space Operations. Reporting directly to the Director General and serving on the ESA Executive Board, you will shape ESA-wide space‑operations strategy and ensure world‑class operational capabilities across all programmes.

Key responsibilities

• Define and implement a coherent ESA‑wide strategy for space operations, aligning programmes, stakeholders and industrial partners.
• Drive cost‑efficiency and adoption of cutting‑edge technologies to enhance performance, competitiveness and sustainability.
• Oversee the preparation and execution of flight operations for ESA missions and other assigned missions, including full‑life‑cycle ground‑segment management.
• Lead activities related to space safety, serve as ESA’s representative on the Space Situational Awareness Programme Board, and manage ESA‑wide radio‑frequency coordination.
• Coordinate a directorate of roughly 600 staff and contractors across multiple European sites with an annual budget of about €400 million.

Required profile

• Proven strategic vision and ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments.
• Experience in leading large, multi‑disciplinary technical organisations.
• Strong understanding of European space policy, Member State needs and EU priorities.
• Excellent cross‑institutional coordination and outreach capabilities.

Required skills

• Space situational awareness
• Radio‑frequency management and coordination
• Flight operations and ground‑segment engineering
• Space safety and operational services