Our team and mission

Under the direct authority of the Director of Earth Observation Programmes, the Head of the Mission Management and Ground Segments Department is responsible for the management of the EO missions handled by ESA in their Phase E2, and for the design, development and operation of the related Payload Data Ground Segments (PDGS) as well as the related data management.

In executing these functions, the Head of Department is supported by the:

• Mission Management and Product Quality Division (EOP-GM)
• Copernicus Ground Segment and Data Management Division (EOP-GC)  
• ESA Ground Segment and Data Management Division (EOP-GE)  
• Project Control and Management Support Office (EOP-GP)

Under the ESA Ground Segment and Data Management Division, the section of Common Services (EOP-GES) is responsible for:

• Earth Observation data management through the design, implementation and operations of data acquisition, generation, access and archiving services to users including the day-to-day interface to the users;
• Evolution of the Earth Observation data management concept and architecture in response to emerging operational needs and including specific R&D projects.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Applying AI to discovery and quality control of Earth Observation data

Background
The earth observation domain is exceptionally relevant at this time, becoming determinant in the definition of earth models for the prediction of environmental changes and at the same time identification of factors that could reduce their impact. The science community is confronted with a challenge objective for which it is critical to provide all the necessary elements for effective research. The increased amount of information and data available, however is creating the need of guiding scientists in the discovery and utilisation of satellite data suitable to their scope.
Applying modern AI technology, allows for faster processing of data and information associated. For this reason, the European Space Agency is increasingly using AI for a number of applications.

In this particular case, we are looking for young expert in supporting the validation, improvement and further evolution of the approach in applying AI for the delivery of filtered and pre-processed information to the interested community.

Objective
The objective of the internship opportunity is to review the current application of AI with ESA Earth Observation data management domain, from a user experience, performance and architecture point of view. Based on the acquired context knowledge and following progress of related activities, you are given the opportunity to apply your own knowledge in identifying and proofing element for evolution.  

How
Your interfaces are ESA employees and possibly the industrial engineering teams involved in AI projects. You will:

• Initially familiarise with the context, including basic concepts of data management and discovery.
• Participate in the design and deployment of applications, such as large language models (LLMs), or other recommendation systems.
• Support the team in testing, debugging, and improving existing systems.The intern will assess the application in terms of user experience and determine possible improvements
• If time allows, a deepening of the internship could occur in one or both the following tasks:
  
  • develop a graph generation mechanism for a Large Language Model (LLM). Starting from a pre-existing RAG database, the chart generation mechanism should interpret the data in the vector database and generate a graph from a discrete set of graphs. The LLM should additionally be able to receive inputs in order to generate new data information;
  • use unsupervised learning on a database of 60K+ quality control reports in order to discover patterns and insights into the data without any explicit guidance or instruction.
• Present findings and project results to team members, stakeholders, and leadership.

You will produce a final report of the obtained results.

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You must be a university student, preferably studying at master’s level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

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

During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.

Knowledge and background as following:

• good programming (e.g. scripting) skills and/or data management skills;
• knowledge of AI, LLM and its application for data analytics is an asset;
• familiar with project/service management principles.