Instrumentation Group Leader

Instrumentation Group Leader

ESO - European Southern Observatory - Chile

Paranal, Chile

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 (La Silla, Paranal) and collaborates (ALMA) in three unique world-class observing sites in northern Chile, 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 (the socalled "integrated operations", IOP).

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.

For its Maintenance, Support, and Engineering Department, within the Directorate of Operations, at the La Silla Paranal Observatory, near Antofagasta, Chile; ESO is advertising an International Staff member position of Instrumentation Group Leader.

The successful applicant will be Leader of the Instrumentation Group within the MSE Department at the Paranal site of the La Silla Paranal Observatory.

The MSE Department, with a workforce of 85 engineers and technicians, provides maintenance and technical support to the four 8m VLT telescopes, to the VLT Interferometer with its auxiliary telescopes, the VISTA survey telescope, several hosted telescopes (VST, etc.) and to all instruments available for scientific observations. Astronomical instruments are large, complex facilities involving advanced technologies in the fields of optics, precision mechanics, electronics, cryogenics, detector acquisition systems and software.

The Instrumentation Group is comprised of 15 engineers and technicians and is responsible for all astronomical instruments at the Paranal Observatory.

Paranal is undergoing a re-organization from a discipline-based to a process-based structure. By 2028 approximately, the management team, including this group leader position, will be accommodated in new roles to lead processes and we expect the candidate to be interested and flexible for such transition.

For further information about working at ESO, see the podcast ‘Engineers at ESO’ at: https://www.eso.org/public/videos/esocast186a/.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

The selected candidate will have the following main duties:

As Instrumentation Group Leader:

• Manage the personnel of the group (performance evaluation, recruitment, training, etc.);
• Prepare, monitor and control resources (labor and non-labor), from requests to allocations and execution, for the different activities and schedule the staff accordingly;
• Ensure the performance of the group through KPIs;
• Act as the safety responsible for the Group;
• Support the observatory operation as Chief Operation Engineer (COE) amongst a pool of qualified staff.

As Instrumentation Engineer:

Have the technical responsibility of one or more systems:

• Be responsible of all maintenance activities (corrective and planned) and obsolescence analysis;
• Ensure the availability of the systems according to specification;
• Propose and implement change requests (analysis, design, implementation, commissioning, documentation);
• Interact with the optical engineers at ESO headquarters and with the Support and Quality Assurance group (planning, spare parts, maintenance plan optimization, documentation, and quality control).

Support activities:

• Execute performance analysis when needed;
• Assembly Integration and Verification of new systems and ensure the transfer of knowledge from project to the dedicated team;
• Any critical Paranal observatory activities for which your competencies are requested by your manager.

Reports to:

The Head of the Maintenance, Support and Engineering Department.

Experience:

The ideal candidate has 5 to 10 years of professional experience in:

• Management and/or coordination of a team;
• Instrumentation systems maintenance in a continuous operational environment;
• Project and contract management;
• Industry 4.0 concepts to modernize operations.

Key Competences:

The candidate has several of the following competences (technical and soft):

• Ability to engage the team along the IOP vision and transformation of the Observatory (i.e., VLT and ELT operated together) and deal with change management;
• Theoretical and practical knowledge of a variety of instrumentation systems and techniques like spectroscopy, imaging, interferometry, detectors, lasers;
• Demonstrated experience with standard maintenance methodologies, e.g., organize effective troubleshooting and do root cause analysis, anomaly detection;
• Agility for managerial and administrative processes with planning and controlling resources;
• Lead with strength and credibility;
• Manage a team in a multinational and multi-cultural environment;
• Coach and supervise technical personnel;
• Constructively suggest improvements to work processes;
• Plan effectively and monitor progress of work, deliver results on time and to standards;
• Constructively address disagreement and manage conflict.

Qualifications:

University degree in physics, engineering, or astronomy. Specialisation in the field of astronomical instrumentation and/or system engineering, or equivalent.

Language Skills:

ESO is an international organization where the official language is English. The position requires excellent oral and written communication skills in English. Spoken Spanish is highly desirable for communication in the day-to day business.

Remuneration and Contract:

We offer an attractive remuneration package including a competitive salary (tax free), comprehensive pension scheme and medical, educational, and other social benefits, as well as financial help in relocating your family, if needed.

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/#familyfriendly-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, in particular for the ELT Programme, and as defined in the applicable policies and staff rules and regulations. For any further information, please visit ESO's conditions of employment. 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:

Paranal Observatory located 120 km south of the city of Antofagasta, Chile. The working schedule will be 8 days on duty and 6 days off duty (8x6) with accommodation provided on site, after a probation period with the appropriate shift scheme. Up to 25% of working time can be taken as mobile work. When integrated operations are starting, the duty station will change to Santiago with frequent travels to the Observatory (hybrid shifts).

Career Path: V

Application:

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

Applicants are invited to apply online. 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.

Deadlines for applications is 28 February 2026.

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.

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.