Young Graduate Trainee in Ground Stations Operational Test and Validation Engineering

Young Graduate Opportunity in the Directorate of Operations

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

ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany 

The ESTRACK Stations and Infrastructure Section in the Ground Facilities Operations Division, Mission Operations Department, Directorate of Operations is responsible for receiving, tailoring and putting into operations subsystems that are developed for use in the ESTRACK Ground Stations. The Section operates a global network of ground stations for Near Earth and Deep Space missions.

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

As a Young Graduate Trainee in the ESTRACK Stations and Infrastructure Section, you will participate in the acceptance of a new monitoring and control system based on the European Ground Operations System Common Core. The software will be deployed in the ground stations, starting with the ground station in Kourou, French Guiana. The test and validation activities will mostly take place via remote connection from the Ground Stations Reference Facility in Darmstadt, Germany.

The monitoring and control system is the top-level software that orchestrates all activities performed by the equipment in the ground stations.

You will be responsible for helping to book the test slots in ESTRACK's scheduling system, preparing test plans based on previously agreed test scenarios, attending the tests, taking notes and consolidating the reporting and tracking of issues.

Issues are tested, reported and tracked using Jira software.

A secondary activity, if the schedule permits and if you are interested in, is a project on prototyping a Space Link Simulator. This simulator is trying to emulate the physical effects on the free space communication between the Ground Stations and a Spacecraft. In this project you will be using tools like GNURadio, Ettus Research USRP modems to record the signal, to apply transformations to it like: attenuation models of free space loss, atmospheric losses, Doppler and Doppler rate effects and adding noise from various noise models. The objective is to make an emulation of the space link of an interplanetary probe in all of the expected mission phases to validate the onboard transponder and the ground stations modems and their configurations.

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 a field covering ground stations engineering/telecommunication or software development.

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.

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, your motivation and overall professional 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] .

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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 or balanced 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.