Young Graduate Trainee for Systems Engineering and Space Mission Design

The System & Engineering Division of the Technical & Quality Management Directorate is responsible for the following main activities:

• providing cost engineering support, tools and estimates to ESA projects;
• providing system engineering support to projects in various phases of development;
• conducting R&D activities related to system engineering methodologies and tools;
• managing and providing technical support to small spacecraft projects for technology demonstration including preparatory activities (feasibility studies, pre-development);
• managing and providing technical support to small projects for in-orbit technology demonstration (instruments, payloads);
• managing the Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) and performing Phase 0 and support activities for ESA projects.

The Systems & Concurrent Engineering Section is responsible for the following main activities:

• managing the CDF and performing Phase 0 studies to assess the feasibility of future ESA missions,
• providing system engineering support to ESA programmes and projects in various phases of development,
• conducting R&D activities related to system engineering methodologies and tools,
• providing technical support to small spacecraft projects for technology demonstration and/or education, including preparatory activities (feasibility studies, pre-development),
• designing and developing models, databases, tools, architectures to support and enhance system engineering practices, methodologies and applications across the borders of disciplines and organisations.

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

As a YGT you will be involved in the following activities:

• participating in multidisciplinary engineering activities for feasibility assessment and conceptual design of future space missions
• system engineering support in CDF space mission studies and for other facility development activities
• developing engineering tools, models and databases for CDF infrastructure and the concurrent engineering approach, including open-source tools, based on standard data models, to be distributed throughout the community of practitioners
• technically supporting other system and project activities in the Division, depending on your specific technical background

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.

Preferably, you should have an aerospace engineering background and/or specialization in System Engineering, Mission Analysis and/or other system-related disciplines. Experience in the usage of engineering tools (e.g. MatLab, MatCad, Catia, etc.) and office automation software (e.g. Microsoft Office, Excel, Visual Basic) is an asset.

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.