Our team and mission

The Earth Science Division, of the Climate Action, Sustainability and Science Department, Earth Observation Programmes Directorate, is based at the European Space Research and Technology Centre. The Earth and Mission Science Division provides the creative vision for innovation and new discoveries in Earth system science, using Earth Observation (EO) in close cooperation with the scientific community.

The Earth Science Division team:

• bridges science and technology by translating ideas and concepts into technical reality and scientific success. It does this by defining, consolidating and managing scientific mission requirements throughout all phases of a mission, and by measuring the maturity of the resulting mission concept;
• manages scientific research-based studies, providing the scientific foundation for mission concepts and approval, supports the successful development of space and ground segment, in-orbit satellite commissioning and in-orbit scientific achievements;
• undertakes airborne, marine and terrestrial campaigns contributing to the development of new technologies, mission feasibility assessments, calibration/validation and application development.
  

You will work within the Earth Surfaces and Interior Section of the Earth Science Division, whose role is to provide scientific support throughout the full lifecycle of Earth Observation missions, from mission concept and assessment studies through development, commissioning and routine operations. The Section contributes to mission requirements definition, scientific performance assessment, calibration and validation activities, product development, mission data exploitation, and the advancement of Earth science through the exploration of emerging scientific questions, novel methodologies and future research directions. The Section has expertise spanning Earth surfaces and interior processes, including terrestrial, oceanic and cryospheric systems, as well as geodesy, gravity and magnetic field observations and solid Earth dynamics. Your activities will contribute to and benefit from a diverse and international team of scientists working across a variety of Earth science disciplines.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Harmony is ESA’s 10th Earth Explorer mission dedicated to the observation and quantification of small-scale motion and deformation (velocity gradient) fields to allow data-driven representations of processes in Earth System models, primarily, at the air-sea interface, of the solid Earth, and in the cryosphere. Due to the multi-faceted mission, a number of different simulation and performance estimation models have been constructed.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is seeking a talented and enthusiastic intern to join our team to use and potentially further enhance the currently available mission performance evaluation tools.

Key Responsibilities:

• use high-fidelity simulation environments to demonstrate the mission’s capability to deliver science data within the stated mission requirements;
• identify and suggest areas of improvement within the existing tools, both on fundamental aspects and on user-friendliness;
• use derived performance evaluations to construct, assess and quantify science data (Level-2) error budgets with a view to product validation metrics.

Information on the Harmony mission can be retrieved here: EE10_Harmony_Report-for-Selection_21June2022.pdf.

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 must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of university course at Master's level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your university for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.

During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.

You should also have:

• a solid understanding of and background in at least one of the Harmony science disciplines and applications;
• demonstrable programming skills with Python;
• knowledge of either active microwave (e.g. SAR) or optical remote sensing is considered an asset.