Young Graduate Opportunity in the Directorate of Science

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

This post is classified F1.

Location

ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain 

Our team and mission

BepiColombo is Europe's first mission to Mercury. Launched on 20 October 2018, it is on a seven-year journey to the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet in our Solar System. When it arrives at Mercury in late 2025, it will endure temperatures in excess of 350 °C and gather data during its one-year nominal mission, with a possible one-year extension. The mission comprises two spacecraft: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (Mio). BepiColombo is a joint mission between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), executed under ESA leadership.

The Science Ground Segment (SGS) located at ESAC, Madrid, has as one if its tasks to prepare the scientific instrument operational planning for the operations at Mercury in 2026. In order to do this, analysis has to be performed concerning the MPO spacecraft orbit, attitude, operational constraints and scientific objectives of the mission.

Very close interaction between the Project Scientist, Instrument teams and Operations Ground Segment (OGS, located in ESOC) is required in order to perform these tasks.

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

You will work together with the Science Operations Engineers and Scientists.
The Science Operations tasks to support the development of the Science Operations Plans for the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) at Mercury consist of many elements. The activities forming part of these tasks are:

  • Analysis of spacecraft pointing required in order to meet the  science objectives
    • the task will be to understand the science requirements needed to perform observations on Mercury that require specific pointing of the MPO spacecraft
  • Analysis of instrument data generation and how these data can be downlinked to the ground
    • The MPO spacecraft has a complex way of storing data on board with its Mass Memory and has multiple mechanisms for downlinking this data to the Earth Ground Stations. The task here is to study different strategies for data storage and dumping in order to find the best strategy for the mission.
  • Analysis of instrument power consumption and definition of power-limited operations
    • the MPO spacecraft will have power limitations in the period where Mercury is closest to the Sun (the perihelion period). In this period, not all instruments can be switched on together, and instrument scenarios are to be developed such that science objectives of the mission can still be met.


The above tasks give just a flavour of the wide variety of tasks that are within the Science Operations planning. In order to perform these tasks, a good understanding of the BepiColombo mission as a whole will be required: the MPO spacecraft mission characteristics  (Mercury science, orbits, etc.) and the characteristics of the scientific instruments.


You will be introduced to all these interesting aspects of the Science Operations Planning. After this introduction, it is planned that you will then focus on one of the above activities to complete a concrete objective for the development of the Science Operations Plan for Mercury.

In doing so, you will be supported by ESA Science Operations Engineers and Scientists in order to complete your task.

Technical competencies

Knowledge of relevant technical domains
Relevant experience gained during internships/project work
Breadth of exposure coming from past and/or current research/activities
Knowledge of ESA and its programmes/projects

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

Education

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of your Master’ s degree in aerospace engineering or (planetary) space science

Additional requirements

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multi-cultural environment, both independently and as part of a team.

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.

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

Other information

For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.

For further information on the Young Graduate Programme please visit: Young Graduate Programme and FAQ Young Graduate Programme

At the Agency we value diversity and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us email contact.human.resources@esa.int.

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Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia, as  Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Cyprus and Slovakia as European Cooperating States (ECS).

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to candidates from under-represented or balanced Member States*. (https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/careers/NationalityTargets.pdf)

In accordance with the European Space Agency’s security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.