ESA Graduate Trainee in Future Engineering Lab & Infrastructure - Digital Engineering

Our team and mission

You will be joining the Future Engineering Division of the European Space Agency, which is responsible for shaping and delivering advanced engineering expertise, tools, methods and standards to support the preparation and development of future space missions.

The Division acts as a centre of excellence and innovation hub for future-oriented engineering, ensuring that missions are designed using cutting-edge technologies, robust engineering practices and sustainable approaches. By combining innovation with direct mission support, the team transforms new ideas into practical solutions that can be reliably applied across programmes and projects.

The Division’s mission is to enable future space missions by advancing how engineering is performed, through modern engineering environments, digital and data-driven practices, and close collaboration with industry and academia. Its vision is to position future engineering as a key enabler of European space ambitions, by delivering tangible, measurable impact for future missions in terms of cost, risk, schedule and mission quality.

The new Digital Engineering Centre of Competence:

Digital engineering is transforming how complex systems are designed, verified and managed by using connected digital models and data across the full lifecycle of a mission and supporting different stakeholders’ needs and information exchanges.

For space missions, this approach involves, amongst others, earlier validation of design decisions, improved traceability from requirements to implementation and testing and verification, reduced development risk and more efficient use of engineering resources.

To extract maximum value from these benefits, the Future Engineering Division is establishing a Digital Engineering Centre of Competence. It will be embedded in real missions from the outset, ensuring that digital engineering delivers concrete value rather than remaining a standalone research activity.

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

During your traineeship, you will actively support the set-up of the Digital Engineering Centre of Competence. Working in a multidisciplinary and international environment, your activities will include:

• supporting the development of the digital engineering strategy and multiyear roadmap, including the definition of objectives, priorities and success indicators;
• contributing to a structured benchmarking analysis of leading digital engineering initiatives in space and aerospace, analysing organisational models, methods, platforms and training approaches;
• supporting the identification and assessment of potential partners from space agencies, industry and academia, and helping to define collaboration models;
• assisting in the definition of the scope, mandate and operating model of the Digital Engineering Centre of Competence, including lightweight governance and interfaces with programmes and projects;
• supporting the mapping of existing digital engineering activities and pilots, identifying gaps, overlaps and opportunities for consolidation;
• contributing to the definition of reference digital engineering capabilities, including system modelling approaches, requirements traceability, lifecycle data continuity and use of digital representations of systems;
• supporting preparatory work for the establishment of shared digital engineering environments, including requirements collection from missions and engineering disciplines;
• assisting in the creation of an academic engagement pathway, including collaboration with universities, involvement of master’s students and doctoral candidates, and definition of applied research topics linked to real mission needs;
• supporting stakeholder engagement activities, such as workshops, interviews and coordination meetings, and synthesising inputs into clear recommendations;
• preparing analyses, concept notes, presentations and communication material to support decision-making and management endorsement.

Through these activities, you will gain hands-on experience in strategy development, digital engineering, systems thinking and organisational transformation in a space engineering context.

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 just completed, or be in the final year of your master’ s degree in in aerospace engineering, systems engineering, computer science, data science, mechanical engineering, or a related field.

Additional requirements

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.

You should also have:

• strong interest in digital engineering, systems engineering, verification processes, modelling, simulation or data-driven engineering approaches;
• ability to analyse complex topics, structure information and synthesise inputs from multiple stakeholders;
• interest in working at the interface between technology, strategy and organisational design;
• good communication skills, with the ability to prepare clear written material and presentations;
• curiosity, initiative and motivation to contribute to the development of a new strategic capability for future space missions;
• familiarity with model-based systems engineering (MBSE) concepts and tools would be an asset;
• basic understanding of digital twin technologies, simulation platforms, or immersive technologies (VR/AR/XR);
• knowledge of data analytics and AI applications in engineering workflows;
• interest in advanced manufacturing concepts, such as smart factories, automation and non-destructive inspection;
• strong interest in innovation ecosystems, collaborative platforms and open innovation approaches.