Our team and mission

The Directorate of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications supports innovation to boost the competitiveness of European industry in the global space market. It works on a wide range of activities, including space-based technologies, systems, products for telecommunications development and the down-to-earth application of space-based services. These activities require engagement with a wide range of industrial, academic and institutional partners.

Future Preparation is the strategy part of ESA’s Telecommunications programme. Its primary purpose is to identify new market opportunities for industry, define future technology development needs, ensure future access to frequency spectrum, create growth by developing new industry standards and build new ARTES programmatic activity. 

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

As a Young Graduate Trainee, you will work in the Future Projects Division. This Division is responsible for strategic analysis, technology and system feasibility studies and the support of satellite communication standards.

The objective of your traineeship will be to develop the concept of Ladybird, a telecommunication satellite intended to fly in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). The digital twin of Ladybird will be developed, together with the graphical user interface (GUI) required to visualise the results and information.

You will be required to work on the platform design in order to gather the relevant interface and design information.
You will support the study of innovative potential propulsion and include it in the overall digital twin. The common interfaces enabling the accommodation of generic telecommunication payloads will also need to be defined. 

You can then follow up this activity with the development of a digital twin of a telecommunication payload compatible with the generic interface specification of Ladybird. You will be asked to work on the preliminary understanding and definition of the ground segment required to interact with Ladybird. This activity will conclude with the advance definition of a potential end-to-end system using the Ladybird concept.

Thanks to this opportunity, you will gain exposure to a multi-disciplinary engineering environment covering all domains, encompassing mission analysis, the platform and payload system, operations and more, providing you with a great opportunity to understand how mission concepts can evolve from inception to implementation.

This traineeship will require you to develop a good understanding of a variety of telecommunication satellite designs, with an emphasis on CubeSats, as well as the underlying technology (including  payload, thermal management subsystem, propulsion and electrical generation) and technology trends.

This opportunity will provide you with a solid grounding in satellite systems engineering. You will be expected to interact with internal experts in ESA. Opportunities for interaction with industry experts are also anticipated.
 

Technical competencies

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 space, aerospace, telecommunications, electronics, mechanical engineering, or similar.

Additional requirements

An educational background in space systems engineering is required. A good command of coding and basics of machine learning would be an asset.

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural 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, your motivation and overall professional career goals will also be explored.