Christian Stephan

Christian Stephan currently serves as the Head of Paranal Systems Engineering at the European Southern Observatory, a position held since November 2014. In this role, Christian implements Systems Engineering concepts, advises management on technical matters, and coordinates instrument and system development. Prior to this, Christian held various positions at the observatory, including Senior System Engineer, where responsibilities included coordinating operational tools and performance monitoring across observatory systems. Christian's earlier experience includes serving as Instrument System Engineer at Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt e.V. for the MERLIN mission, and as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light. Christian holds a Doctorate in Physics from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and a Master of Science in Engineering Physics from Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, among other educational qualifications.