Young Graduate Trainee for Weather Satellite Instrument Data Processing

The position is within the System & Operations Section of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) project, in the Earth Observation Department, at ESTEC.

MTG is the next generation of European meteorological geostationary satellites, developed through  cooperation between Eumetsat and ESA. This new series will comprise six spacecraft: four MTG-I satellites carrying the Flexible Combining Imager (FCI) and Lightning Imager (LI) instruments, and two MTG-S satellites carrying the Infrared Sounder (IRS) and Ultra-violet/Visible/Near-Infrared (UVN) sounder. The launch of the first satellite is due in 2021.

See for context:

https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Meteorological_missions/Meteosat_Third_Generation/Introducing_MTG

https://www.eumetsat.int/website/home/Satellites/FutureSatellites/MeteosatThirdGeneration/index.html
 

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

Between launch and commencement of nominal operations, the satellites undergo a commissioning phase where the proper functioning and performance of instruments are verified. For these activities, various algorithms and derived software tools are used to process and assess on the ground the science data streams coming from the different instruments.

The MTG project is looking to hire a Trainee to support validation of these tools and their interfaces.

Assisting ESA engineers working in this domain, you as a YGT will contribute to the following tasks:

• supporting the project team in preparing commissioning of the first MTG satellites.
• monitoring installation documentation from suppliers, setting up in the ESA environment the different Payload Data Simulators (PDG) and Instrument Quality tools (IQT) (science data ground processor used for commissioning of satellites).
• following user manual documentation from suppliers, mastering use of the various PDG and IQT, reproducing software acceptance testing campaigns and raising anomalies for any discrepancies found.
• deploying the PDG and IQT to produce and analyse the different types of dataset required by the project, to ensure readiness of tools and their interfaces for commissioning activities.
• supporting ESA engineers in the review and acceptance of new IQT/PDG versions.

Relevant technical domains:

• space systems and scientific instrumentation
• algorithms, image processing and data analysis (using matlab/python)
• familiarity with using Linux systems and eagerness to address IT problems

During this Traineeship, you will have the opportunity to:

• work on a next-generation operational mission that will be the gold standard for the next decades in weather forecasting, in a complex environment involving most major European space actors (ESA, Eumetsat, TAS, OHB, Airbus, GMV, Leonardo)
• interact and work in close collaboration with ESA engineers acting in all fields of space engineering (instrument, operations, data handling, databases)
• acquire a system engineering view of four state-of-the-art Earth observation instruments
• acquire knowledge in image navigation registration, image processing, payload engineering, space software development, software prototyping using Matlab, Python
• become familiar with ESA standards (ECSS), processes and practices used across the European space sector

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of a university course at Master's level (or equivalent) in a technical or scientific discipline.

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.　

You should demonstrate good interpersonal skills and the capacity to work both independently and as part of a team. 　

During the interview your motivation and overall professional perspective/career goals will also be explored.