Your position and team

You will be part of the Engineering Group. The EG realizes the mechanical, electronic and software designs and is responsible for the realization, integration and testing of the prototypes and instruments for space research. All of your colleagues are passionate for engineering, technology, space research and challenges which require innovative solutions.

In our Product / Quality Assurance section (4,6 FTE), we support users and customers in scientific and contract research projects. We do this for projects on all levels of maturity: from proving “fit for space” of new technologies to the realization of flight hardware in our cleanroom and production facilities. The team ensures the implementation of quality requirements, procedures and processes in both hardware and software. For example, the Product / Quality Assurance team within SRON is now involved with the research into new superconductive detectors for space and involved in projects like the ESA Athena and PLATO missions and the NASA POEMM and PRIMA missions.

The Engineering Group and this section are both located in Leiden and in Groningen. This vacancy is primarily for the location Leiden, but you need to be at the Groningen location regularly.

As section head you manage your team with focus on talent development and as a coach where necessary, taking into account the policies of the Human Resources and Finance departments. The team is to be supported in Quality, Health, Safety and Environment issues which might occur. In this role, you advise project leaders with respect to staffing and the engineering aspects of Product and Quality Assurance for their project plans. Besides, you have the responsibility to assign your team over the different projects.

You stand firm for the necessary quality within our projects and as such, you need to layout the strategies for future quality improvements on both technical and programmatic level, based on the SRON project portfolio and trends in the field of Product and Quality Assurance. This will lead into development plans for your section, and potentially collaboration projects with different groups within SRON. Project and process improvements are always needed. You will take a leading role in proposing them.

Read more

Your project

As section head you will also be part of a project. We envision a 50-50 percent divide between your role as team lead and participating as PA manager in one or more of our projects.

Read more

Position requirements

You need to have a background in Mechanical, Electrical, or Chemical Engineering or a related field. The idea of developing failure prevention policies, procedures, trainings and methods for products, materials, components and operational quality is right up your street. You can deal and negotiate with the international space agencies, sub-contractors, partner institutes from in- and outside the EU. You are a strong team leader with good management/coaching skills, who can manage conflicts and take decisions. You are passionate about new technologies, space research and have a strong wish to improve yourself, your team and the projects you support. It is a plus if you have experience in diverse functional areas relevant to space / avionics instrumentation, including knowledge of Configuration Control Systems.

Read more

What we offer

Employment of this fulltime position is by NWO-I (the Institutes organization of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research). You will start with a temporary contract for 2 years, with the intention for a permanent contract in the future. The salary will be in accordance with the salary scales of NWO-I, scale 12 (WVOI)

 

NWO-I has good secondary employment conditions such as

  • 42 days of vacation leave a year on full-time basis
  • An excellent pension scheme
  • Options for (additional) personal development
  • Excellent facilities for parental leave
Read more

Why SRON

How does the universe work? And the galaxies, stars and planets in it? Our instruments in space, and our research, help to answer these questions. This is the result of a joint effort of you and all your colleagues at SRON combining their knowledge, expertise, talents and skills.

Within SRON you can work with colleagues from various disciplines and take a role in the whole process from idea to result. You will be working on groundbreaking instruments in a closely collaborating team of engineers and scientists. The technology, project and processes are challenging. We work in well-equipped and modern laboratories and offer good conditions and great opportunities for personal development.

Read more