EU Technical Project Lead

Great news for Earth: Our work to make environmental data and science more accessible through software solutions and AI is growing. We’re responding to the sustained and growing ambitions of our partners in Europe – ESA, ECMWF, EUMETSAT, and “New Space”.

Join us as Technical Project Lead and help us scale our work in Europe. You'll lead projects once they're awarded, and contribute to shaping and writing the proposals for our next contributions. The role combines project management with product ownership, focusing on project delivery, the technical approach on proposals, and the relationships that tie our global efforts together.

Since our work is to apply novel technology to production platforms or show how new approaches can scale, this role requires a strong technical understanding alongside solid project delivery. Your role is to connect our partner with our technical team and contribute with your strategic guidance.

We're a new, small and lean player in the European tech services sector, and pride ourselves to stand out as open, pragmatic, and professional. Are you inspired by this? Contribute to shaping how we build our practice and reputation, working as a nimble partner alongside much larger organisations.

This is a remote-first position. You need to be working from one of the ESA member states, with the option to use our office in Lisbon, Portugal. You'll focus on our European projects and partners while being part of our global team. We're aiming for a summer 2026 start.

What You'll Do

• Own project management and product ownership on awarded projects: scope, work packages, costing, planning, backlog, and prioritisation
• Be a trusted point of contact to ESA, ECMWF, and EUMETSAT technical and contract officers to consortium partners and the wider landscape
• Contribute with delivery and field experience to our business development, supporting the proposal team on the technical approach and doing the hands-on technical writing on EU proposals
• Connect the dots across related efforts so proposals and delivery reinforce each other

What We're Looking For

• Experience leading technical projects as a lead engineer, project manager, or product owner, in environments where you stayed close to the engineering work
• A strong technical understanding of our domain, comfortable coordinating research & development as well as operational application engineering
• Solid project management discipline: quarterly scoping and tracking, realistic costing, governance, and version control. You keep complex work moving across multiple partners and deliver on what's committed
• Experience contributing to or leading proposals, including the hands-on technical writing
• Knowledge of the European Earth observation, geospatial, and space landscape and how it operates: programmes, procurement, and stakeholders
• Excellent communication skills and attention to detail. Fluent in English, with additional European languages a plus
• Based in an ESA member state in Europe, for eligibility and travel and time zone compatibility

Nice to Have

• An existing network across European partners like ESA, VITO, DLR, EOX, Telespazio, CNES et al.
• Experience writing or leading ESA or EU competitive proposals
• Familiarity with cloud-native data formats and architectures and geospatial specifications and technologies such as OGC API, STAC, TiTiler, openEO, eoAPI

Compensation

The salary range for this role is €90,000 to €106,500 per year. Salary is one part of a holistic compensation and benefits package, and we're happy to talk through the full picture, including the mission-driven work at the heart of what we do.

How We Work

• We collaborate in the open. Clear GitHub issues, thoughtful Slack conversations, and supportive code reviews
• We care about the work and each other. Sharing ideas, giving feedback, and investing in team growth
• We build sustainably. Focusing on quality, longevity, and impact, not just delivery speed
• We care about the real world. Our work supports science, sustainability, and public good

The Hiring Process

We have a 5 step hiring process so you and our team get a clear understanding of how we can succeed together:

1. Application review
2. Introductory interview to get to know each other (30 minutes)
3. Position Skills interview to talk about your experience and how you'd approach the work (1 hour)
4. Team fit interview to align on our culture and your longer term goals (30 minutes)
5. Paid full day virtual interview activity to collaborate directly with our team (8 hours)

If this role sounds exciting but you're not sure you check every box, we encourage you to apply. We're looking for thoughtful, motivated leaders who want to grow and contribute.

Development Seed takes embracing differences and providing fair opportunities seriously. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.