Senior Product Owner – SAR

Senior Product Owner – SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Processor

Job Overview

We are recruiting an experienced Senior Product Owner for SAR Processing Systems on behalf of a leading European space and aerospace technology group in Salem, Germany. In this elite technical leadership role, you will take full ownership of the lifecycle, development, and evolution of next-generation Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processing software and data products (from Level 0 raw data up to Level 2 geophysical products). Serving as the central link between international stakeholders and agile development teams, you will oversee the technical roadmap for mission-critical radar algorithms utilized in global Earth observation, climate monitoring, and defense satellite constellations.

Location & Work Mode

• City: Salem (Baden-Württemberg)
• Country: Germany
• Work Mode: Hybrid (Structured under a 40% home office and 60% on-site framework).

Your Role & Responsibilities

• Product Ownership: Act as the primary technical point of contact and product champion for internal and external institutional stakeholders regarding SAR processors and output data products.
• Backlog & Team Direction: Manage, prioritize, and refine the software development backlog, translating complex radar physics requirements into actionable engineering sprints for the software team.
• Cross-Functional Coordination: Synchronize mission dependencies across satellite platform, radar instrument, and ground segment engineering business units.
• Lifecycle Management: Lead software development trajectories across the entire space mission lifecycle (from initial Phase A/B conceptual design through to Phase E operational deployment).
• Scope & Risk Control: Evaluate architectural feature changes, assess their impact on project scope, budget, or timelines, and proactively mitigate software development risks.
• Milestone Reviews: Prepare, anchor, and defend technical data packages during formal space project milestone reviews.

Your Qualifications

• Education: University degree in Mathematics, Physics, Electronics, Aerospace Engineering, or a highly relevant scientific discipline.
• Agile Leadership: Proven, deep experience operating as a Product Owner managing highly complex software projects, large engineering teams, and diverse institutional stakeholders.
• Radar Expertise: Comprehensive, physics-based knowledge of image-generating radar technologies (reflector and/or phased array architectures) and specialized algorithm development for L0 to L2 SAR data processing.
• Space Standards: Solid familiarity working within stringent European space software engineering and quality assurance process standards, specifically ECSS-E-ST-40C and ECSS-Q-ST-80C.
• Software Competence: Strong, active programming skills in C++ are mandatory; professional knowledge of IDL and Python is considered a distinct asset.
• Security & Travel: Possession of a valid European security clearance (or complete willingness to undergo the background vetting process) and a willingness to travel for project milestones.
• Experience: At least 5 to 8+ years of professional experience in space project software engineering and technical product management.

Languages Required

• German & English: Full professional written and verbal fluency in both languages is required to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes and technical documentation.

Salary & Benefits

• Base Salary: €85,000 – €120,000 per year (competitively matched to seniority and domain expertise).
• Financial Perks: Integrated 13th-month salary structure, comprehensive group accident insurance, and a corporate pension plan.
• Health & Wellness: Active health promotion programs, including corporate health management, an EGYM Wellpass membership, and in-company sports teams.
• Culture & Growth: Long-term career development tracks within a high-reliability engineering environment, supported by a highly collaborative, international workspace.