German National Graduate Trainee in Concurrent Design of Space Missions and MBSE

Our team and mission

You will be working in the ESA Future Engineering Division, responsible for developing and providing engineering expertise, tools, methods and standards for the development of future projects, in support of the Agency Programme Directorates.

You will join a team working on the following main activities:

• Performing Phase 0/A studies in the Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) to assess the technical and programmatic (e.g. cost, risks and schedule) feasibility of future ESA missions;
• Providing expert systems engineering support to ESA programmes and projects in various phases of development;
• Conducting R&D activities and technology developments related to systems and concurrent engineering methodologies and tools - including a particular focus on MBSE - and collaborating with teams working on AR/XR, AI, end-of-life management (such as zero debris approach, de-orbiting technologies or design for demise), in-orbit servicing and eco-design (such as life cycle assessment) and other cutting-edge technologies;
• Providing technical support to small spacecraft projects for technology demonstration and/or education, a well as conducting concurrent engineering challenge activities and training initiatives at the ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Facility at the ESEC-Galaxia centre;
• Designing and developing models, databases, tools and architectures to support and enhance systems and cost engineering practices, methodologies and applications across the various disciplines, project phases and organisation as a whole.

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

As a National Graduate Trainee, you will be actively involved in the following:

• Multidisciplinary engineering activities, including the feasibility assessment and conceptual design of future space missions;
• Systems engineering support for space mission studies in the Concurrent Design Facility;
• Development of engineering tools, models and databases for use within the CDF infrastructure and in support of the concurrent engineering approach, including the infusion of novel technology (e.g. AI, AR/XR, MBSE, etc);
• Technology development and R&D exploring novel methods and processes aiming at improving systems and concurrent engineering practices;
• Other systems and project activities, depending on incoming requests and your specific technical background and motivation.

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 aerospace (systems) engineering or a related field such as electrical engineering, telecommunications engineering or mechanical engineering).

Additional requirements

You should preferably have an aerospace engineering background and/or specialisation in systems engineering, mission analysis and/or another system-related discipline.

Experience in the use of engineering tools (e.g. MATLAB, Catia or STK) and office automation software (such as Microsoft Office), as well as in visual systems modelling and design tools (e.g. Python, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect, Cameo Systems Modeler, Capella, GENESYS or COMET) 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. Previous experience of working in international teams may be considered an asset. Your motivation, overall professional prospects and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.