Our team and mission

The EGNOS and SBAS Division is responsible for the development of the EGNOS system and its qualification, in its role as Design and Procurement Agent, under the programme management of the European Commission (EC). Phase CD of Version 3 of EGNOS system is currently under development.
 
EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) is the European region satellite-basedaugmentation system (SBAS). It improves the performance of GPS, enabling its use for safety-of-life navigation applications. A new version, EGNOS V3, is under development to provide augmentation of Galileo system and the latest generations of GPS constellations.

The Division is also managing several Research and Development activities under the Horizon Europe Infrastructure and NAVISP Programmes and is supporting ASECNA for the procurement of the African SBAS.

The team’s mission is to ensure the reliability, accuracy, and integrity of satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that support safety critical applications such as aviation, maritime, and railways. This implies close interaction with European industry partners and internal ESA stakeholders, offering a rich exposure to both technical and programmatic aspects of space navigation projects.

You will be embedded in a multidisciplinary team led by experienced engineers and project managers. You will benefit from mentorship, structured onboarding, and access to ESA’s technical resources. The Toulouse office provides a professional and welcoming atmosphere, with opportunities to observe project reviews, technical panels, and collaborative workshops. 

This internship offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in satellite navigation technologies, contribute to real-world projects, and develop skills in system engineering, data analysis, and collaborative research. The environment is ideal for students passionate about space, navigation, and innovation.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: MBSE application to EGNOS (sub)systems

The EGNOS V3.1 System is composed of 39 Remote reference stations, 2 Main Control Centres (hosting in particular the central processing Facilities) and 6 Uplink Stations to connect to 3 Geostationary satellites - All sites being interconnected by a dedicated Real-time Wide Area Network.
EGNOS V3.1 design is the result of a complex multi-disciplinary exercise implementing stringent performance, safety, security and operability requirements into several interconnected sub-systems.

You will be integrated in the EGNOS Sub-Systems team, responsible for the subsystems development and system Integration, Validation and Qualification (IVQ) activities and you will interact with other teams, in particular System engineering.

Your objective during this internship is to get acquainted and implement Model Based System Engineering (MBSE) methodology to develop EGNOS (sub)system models. In particular, you will: 

• familiarise with EGNOS V3 MBSE methodology and the MBSE tool used by ESA (i.e. capella);
• explore import/export capabilities of capella; apply this to port the current EV3 model from MEGA to capella;
• propose methodology to verify the model (semantics);
• identify a subset of EGNOS subsystem use cases, modes, functions, and interfaces for implementation in the MBSE tool; you will take the existing requirements and design documentation of EGNOS next-generation subsystems as your starting point;
• link the defined subsystem models with requirements to build complete Design Definition and Design Justification files; the model will simulate both static and dynamic subsystem behaviour with internal and/or external interfaces, testing state and mode transitions;
• propose and implement documentation export means to produce design and justification documentation and interface control documents.

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.

Some knowledge on the following topics would be an asset:

• Model Based System Engineering tools;
• system engineering principles;
• Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) [GPS] [GALILEO] [SBAS].