Engineering & Technology Studentship

Duration:

up to 3 years.

Starting Date:

Q3 2027.

Studentship Details

ESO's PhD studentships provide professional experience in an international scientific and technological environment and offer exposure to the activities of one of the world's leading astronomical organisations. Students at ESO have the opportunity to work on exciting research and development projects, contributing to the cutting edge of telescope and instrumentation engineering alongside experts in their field. ESO's studentships are done in collaboration with research institutes and industries in ESO Member States providing fruitful, multi-disciplinary interactions, rich in knowledge exchange.

Note that ESO does not award PhDs, so students must be registered in a doctoral school and therefore, a professor, habilitated to the supervision of PhD theses, must be found before the start of the PhD. The candidate can propose a professor at their home university, or a supervisor and doctoral school will be looked for among the collaborators of ESO.

We offer the following subjects to choose from, in different engineering fields:

• Real Time Computing for Adaptive Optics (in the Control Software and Engineering Department): SAFE-RL: a safety-supervised reinforcement-learning control engine for adaptive optics - from SPARTA to the ELT
• Wavefront control - phasing of mirrors (in the Optical Engineering Department): From the laboratory to the sky: maturing a Zernike phasing sensor for the segmented primary mirror of the ELT
• Detector systems for astronomy (in the Electronics Engineering Department): Detector simulation framework for ground- and space-based astronomy

More information and detailed descriptions of these subjects can be found here: https://www.eso.org/sci/activities/fellowships-and-studentships/engstudentships.html

Key competences

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Good technical background and deep interest in the field of their chosen subject;
• Proactive attitude and willingness to learn;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Capability to structure their own work and to plan ahead;
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in multicultural teams;
• Good communication and interpersonal skills;
• An interest in astronomy and/or scientific instrumentation is an asset.

Qualifications

Applicants should meet the following requirements:

• A master's degree and the pre-requisites to be admitted in a doctoral school, in the chosen field;
• Academic background relevant to the research area;
• Being a national of, or studying in, an ESO Member State or Chile (https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/memberstates/).

Language Skills

A very good working knowledge of English, oral and written, is essential.

Duty Station

The role is based on-site at ESO - Garching bei München and relocation to the duty station area for the duration of the studentship is required.

Benefits

ESO offers students:

• An attractive remuneration package;
• Travel to and from the duty station at the beginning and end of the studentship, in accordance with ESO rules;
• The possibility to rent an ESO room/apartment during the first months of the studentship until you have found your own place.

Application

Applications must be completed in English, and should include:

• A cover letter (max one page) detailing your motivation for an engineering PhD studentship at ESO, which subject you would be interested in and why, noting any relevant previous study, experience, or interests, and your desired starting date and duration;
• Your CV with an outline of your technical/practical experience and a list of publications, if any;
• A research plan (maximum two pages) outlining how you would develop the PhD project, including a timeline;
• The names and contact details of three persons familiar with your research and/or engineering work and able to provide a recommendation letter on request.

At the time of the PhD start date, you will have to provide:

• A letter from the doctoral school indicating that the pre-requisites to start a PhD have been met;
• A letter from the formal supervisor at the doctoral school indicating agreement with the project plan and collaboration with ESO in the frame of the PhD, and (if the studentship is requested for less than 3 years) guaranteeing financial support (salary, health insurance, travel money) for the part of the PhD done at the home institute.

If you have any further questions, please contact: vacancy@eso.org.

Deadline for applications is 31 December 2026.

ESO Values

An important element in any successful employment relationship is harmony in values between an organisation and its people.

The ESO Values are:

ESO strives for excellence through innovation.

ESO provides outstanding services to its communities.

ESO fosters diversity & inclusion.

ESO believes in the key role of sustainability for its future.

Achieving the above are recognized as only possible on the basis of personal values and attitudes that we expect from our employees: respect, integrity, accountability, commitment, collaboration, and clear & open communication.

Applicants to any ESO role are asked to reflect on their affinity with these values and advised they may be asked about them if called for interview.

Diversity

ESO has established diversity as an important value of the Organisation, is committed to providing an equal opportunities environment and is actively seeking to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce. Please visit https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/sustainability/dei-at-eso/ for further details.

Nationality

For this recruitment, applicants must be nationals of, or studying in one of, our Member States, host states and strategic partners: Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Chile, irrespective of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religion.