ESA Graduate Trainee in the Space Transportation Product Assurance and Safety Office

Our team and mission

The Directorate of Space Transportation mission is the European independent access to and freedom in space. The
directorate’s main activities are related to the:

• Development and Exploitation of Ariane and Vega launch systems
• Maintenance and upgrading of the European Space port (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana
• Development of new launch and space transportation systems, including reusable demonstrators
• Preparation of future competitive and clean space transportation solutions through maturation of core technologies

Within the Directorate of Space Transportation, the Product Assurance and Safety Office’s role is to verify the fulfilment of
PA and Safety requirements in the projects/programs. These requirements are in place to maximize the mission’s success
and mitigate the associate risks to the involved people and infrastructures, as well as, to the public community. They
include the implementation of sustainable exploitation, and exploration, of the Space with solid zero-debris policy.

Given the independent and transactional nature of the Product Assurance and Safety responsibilities, the office is active in
leading the implementation of standards in the documentation and info management, as well as in contributing to the
dissemination and implementation of approaches aimed at reducing the development/operations cycle time in compliance
with applicable standards. Lately, the Product Assurance and Safety Office facilitate the transfer of knowledge across the directorate and the Agency. The Product Assurance and Safety Office is responsible for the directorate Quality Management System and as such in charge of operational excellence activities aimed at simplifying and reducing the internal processes in conjunction with an enhanced visualization of their output and performance (e.g. through dedicated cockpits and Key Performance Indicators).

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

In the framework of this traineeship, you will perform, lead, and facilitate activities as support to your tutor, including, but
not limited to:

• the extension of ESA mission classification to Space Transportation Systems
• the deployment and implementation of a data driven Quality and Safety approach by rolling out dedicated cockpits
  to visualize pre-agreed data and definition of best practices to enhance quantitative analyses
• the collection of Lessons Learnt from STS projects, especially STS PNRR and FLPP and the implementation of
  identified recommendations
• the Quality Management System evolution especially in improving the actual processes related to knowledge
  management (e.g. effective and efficient management of lessons learnt)

Quality improvement activities within the industry aimed at increasing the robustness of the current and future launch
systems

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You should have recently completed or be in the final year of your master’s degree in in a technical or scientific discipline

Additional requirements

To be completed by the Manager as appropriate:

You need to be capable to work with autonomy and questioning the status quo to identify and introduce substantial improvements with the aim of capitalizing as much as possible on new technologies and New Space approaches. You need to be familiar with modern IT tools and posses an analytical and problem-solving attitude to facilitate the implementation of “easy” solutions to “complex” problems.

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. Previous experience of working in international teams can be considered an asset. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.