Young Graduate Trainee in ESA Academy Satellites Programme

Young Graduate Opportunity in the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

This post is classified F1 on the Coordinated Organisations’ salary scale .

Location

ESEC, Redu, Belgium 

The ESA Academy is the agency’s overarching programme for university student space projects and training opportunities.
Through a tailored transfer of space know-how and interaction with space professionals, the Academy takes students through a learning path that complements their academic education.

The ESA Academy programme comprises of three main segments:

• An academic TRAINING programme which offers individuals a portfolio of highly qualifying training sessions covering a wide range of space-related topics offered by professional experts;
• A PROJECTS programme, allowing teams to design build, test and operate small satellites and payload experiments on space-related platforms, among others through the ESA Academy Experiments programme;
• An ENGAGEMENT pillar, providing students and young professionals with scholarship, conference and networking opportunities.

Specifically, 'Fly Your Satellite!' is a programme which supports educational satellite teams developing CubeSats and other small satellites, with the design, test, launch and operations of their satellite missions. ‘Fly Your Satellite!’ includes three elements: the full ‘Fly Your Satellite!’ programme supporting teams from design until operations; ‘Design Booster!’ supporting teams with their early design phase in a fixed duration programme; and ‘Test Opportunities’ supporting teams with the execution of an environmental test in the Education Office’s CubeSat Support Facility.

During the projects, a strong emphasis is placed on regular interaction with professional engineers and scientists through engineering documentation, frequent meetings, workshops and technical reviews. The outcome of participation is a unique practical experience and training with ESA and its partners that complements and enhances university students’ academic journey.

The ESA Academy, as part of the ESA Education Office, operates in close cooperation with specialists from ESA and industry, from university departments and other research organisations. ESA’s ESEC-Galaxia site in Belgium hosts several facilities tailored for the ESA Academy, including the CubeSat Support Facility, a cleanroom hosting integration and test equipment for CubeSats and experiments, and the Training and Learning Facility, a state-of-the art training room also equipped to support Concurrent Engineering workshops.

Information on the activities of the ESA Academy can be found at https://www.esa.int/Education/ESA_Academy . 

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

As a Young Graduate Trainee, you will be involved in the activities related to educational satellite missions, primarily the elements of the Fly Your Satellite! Programme.

In particular under the supervision of the ESA project manager activities may include:

• Providing support to the university teams participating in the programme through supporting their technical and project development. This may include project planning and progress tracking as well as participation in systems engineering activities, such as requirements management and system modelling as well as the review of project technical documentation.
• Supporting the overall running of the programme, including assistance in the preparation and execution of training and workshops, project reviews, test campaigns, launch campaigns etc.
• Liaising with ESA experts for technical reviews of the project teams, in support of test activities and with the delivery of training.
• Assisting with the development of the programme, including the development of guidelines and documentation.
• Assisting in the development of test support equipment and/or processes for use in the CubeSat Support Facility.
• Along with the student teams you will learn about the processes needed to design, build, test, launch and operate a satellite, including engineering, project and legal steps.

You will also be involved in additional managerial tasks to further develop the programme, as well as have the opportunity to contribute to other student activities and projects of the ESA Academy, as required.

Knowledge of relevant technical domains

Relevant experience gained during internships/project work

Breadth of exposure coming from past and/or current research/activities

Knowledge of ESA and its programmes/projects

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of your Master’ s degree in engineering (or closely related discipline) with a strong background in space technology and satellite systems engineering.

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team.

Noting the location of this role, and the need to be flexible with daily travel due to participation in campaigns and training delivery it is strongly recommended that you have access to a car for the duration of this appointment.

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

During the interview motivation and overall professional perspective/career goals will also be explored.

Other information

For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework .

For further information on the Young Graduate Programme please visit: Young Graduate Programme andFAQ Young Graduate Programme

At the Agency we value diversity and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us email [email protected] .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as  Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus as European Cooperating States (ECS).

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to candidates from under-represented Member States *. 

In accordance with the European Space Agency’s security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service. 

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.