The successful applicant will be part of the Mechanical Engineering Group within the Maintenance, Support and Engineering (MSE) Department at the Paranal site of the La Silla Paranal Observatory (LPO). The MSE Department of the Paranal Observatory with a workforce of 80 engineers and technicians provides maintenance and technical support to the four 8m VLT telescopes, to the VLT Interferometer with its auxiliary telescopes, the VST and VISTA survey telescopes 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. In the future, the ELT will integrate the family of telescopes to be operated as part of the Paranal Observatory. See the ESO engineers podcast at: https://www.eso.org/public/videos/esocast186a/

The Paranal Mechanical Engineering (PME) group is comprised of 19 engineers and technicians and is responsible for:

• Maintaining and ensuring the availability of all mechanical equipment of the Paranal Observatory (except Telescope Instruments), all cooling equipment (except Telescope Instruments cryogenics parts), large handling equipment, production of mechanical pieces, movement/lift of heavy equipment, and work package management of outsourced contract for mechanical services.
• Defining, designing and implementing upgrades related to improvements to the above-mentioned equipment, including management of outsourced resources eventually contracted for such improvements.
• Providing support to other groups like Instrumentation, Optics and Electronics & Electrical groups in their fields of expertise, like Instrument movement, coaters operations and maintenance, power generation and other interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with project teams for integration and testing of new equipment.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

The selected candidate will have the following responsibilities:

Maintenance activities:

• Be responsible for all the assigned maintenance activities.
• Participate in the daily troubleshooting and corrective maintenance activities.
• Propose improvements in maintenance methods and practices.
• Propose changes to improve the design for maintenance and reliability of subsystems.
• Participate in the development of job plans and procedures.
• Support and interact with Support and Quality Assurance group for planning, spare parts definition and stock, maintenance plan optimization, documentation and quality control.

Support activities:

• Participate in Assembly-Integration-Verification of new systems and telescopes.
• Support the implementation of change requests and of projects.
• Support Instrumentation, Optics and Electronics & Electrical Groups in the mechanical field.
• Any critical LPO operational activities for which mechanical competencies are requested.

Key Competences:

• Hands-on experience for maintenance of mechanical assemblies.
• Ability to work in clean environments.
• Knowledge of work at heights.
• Ability to work close to or on sensitive optical systems.
• Ability to support troubleshooting and solving problems under difficult environmental conditions and/or tight deadlines.
• Good self-organization.
• Strong sense of team spirit with the ability to work effectively in a multi-national and multi-cultural environment, promoting the sharing of ideas and opinions, respecting and accepting eventual differences.
• Real interest to learn or apply maintenance and trouble-shooting techniques.
• Ability to work safely.
• Ability to constructively suggest improvements to work processes and maintenance practices.

Reports to:

Group Leader of the Paranal Mechanical Group.

Experience:

The candidate has a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the field of maintenance for advanced mechanical systems, preferably involving high precision mechanics and/or opto-mechanical systems with knowledge of pneumatics, hydraulics, cooling, vacuum, and/or air conditioning system. Hands-on field experience and interest for executing maintenance of mechanical equipment. Experience in working with a CMMS, job plans, maintenance plans and reporting. Class B driver's license.

Desirable:

• Experience working in telescopes and in a multicultural environment.
• Experience in maintaining vacuum systems and equipment in clean room.
• Certification for operation of forklifts, cranes, manlifts, as well as a class D driver's license. If the candidate does not have these certifications, he/she shall commit to be certified.
• Knowledge and experience in predictive and condition-based maintenance.
• Experience in writing job plans and procedures.
• Experience in working at heights.

Qualifications:

Technical degree in mechanical engineering.

Language Skills:

ESO is an international organization where the official language is English. The position requires proficiency in oral and written communication 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 its 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.

The initial contract is for a two-year term subject to medical clearance and successful completion of the probation period with a possibility of indefinite extension following the two years. 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-sp-updated.pdf

Duty Station:

Paranal Observatory is located 120 km south of the city of Antofagasta, Chile. The nominal working schedule will be 8 days on duty and 6 days off duty (8x6) with accommodation provided on site during the shifts. In the case of contract renewal, the duty station could change, and the type of shift become hybrid since the Observatory is moving toward more remote operations for the future.

Career Path: IV

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.

Closing date 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, non-Chilean applicants must hold a valid Chilean permanent residence at the time of application.

ESO is committed to equal opportunities. The post is equally open to suitably qualified candidates irrespective of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion.