Young Graduate Trainee in the ESA Security Office - Security and Export Control

Young Graduate Opportunity in the Director General's Services

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

ESA Headquarters, Paris, France 

Under the authority of the Director General, the ESA Security Office is responsible for the coordination, supervision and control of Security "for space", whether classified or unclassified, for corporate, space and cyber security systems. 

The Head of the ESA Security Office also exercises the role of the Chief Export Control Officer (CECO) of the Agency and is responsible to ensure the management, development and implementation of the ESA Strategic Trade Controls Compliance Policy.  

This is a training opportunity in the domain of Security “for space” and Export Control related matters, with a focus on Security landscape evolution and export control application related to the corporate and space pillar. This requires competence and vision in security and legal matters.

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

You will work under the supervision of the Head of the ESA Security Office, working also in support of the Export Control Manager, of the ESA Legal Department) on the following tasks:

Activities in the Export Control domain:

• Conducting legal and technical analysis on the export control rules and principles in Europe and within the world.
• Conducting legal and technical analysis, by closely interacting with the Agency’s decision-makers, and preparing briefs and documents regarding developments in a) international non-proliferation regimes (e.g., the Wassenaar Arrangement and the MCTR) and b) export control and sanctions regulations, especially of the jurisdictions relevant to ESA’s activities and programmes, in order to facilitate decisions, procedures and processes; 
• Managing European and international (in particular U.S.) export control agreements and license applications, including collecting information from internal and external customers and reviewing export license documentation; 
• Providing technical support to global/strategic trade control compliance, transaction screening processes and procedures (incl. license exceptions) and export classification analysis; developing and conducting business-specific export compliance awareness training for ESA’s activities and programmes, and supporting internal investigations related to the subject matter;
• Attending, and providing support to, internal committees, boards and working groups of the Agency, as relevant to the above functions.

Activities in the Security “for space” domain 

• Conducting analysis on the evolution of the threat landscape applied to the space domain.
• Conducting analysis on the security legal and technologies within the spaced world context applied to mitigate the evolution of the threat landscape.
• As part of ESA Transformation Initiative 6, providing support to establish a security communication strategy 
• As part of ESA Transformation Initiative 6, providing support to establish an awareness and training campaign to report on the threat evolution and to promote the ESA security capabilities.
• Supporting DG Services, within the Security “for space” strategy including preparation of cyber security activities for presentation at the 2025 Council meeting at ministerial level (CM25)

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 Legal Studies or Space-related discipline.

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.

You should also have:

• Flexibility, organisation and ability to work under pressure, delivering results. 
• Security international competence would be an asset as well as knowledge of International Export Control agreements and licence applications.

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

Applicants must be eligible to access technology and hardware which is subject to European and US export control regulations and for security clearance by their national security administrations.

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 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.