Location
ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany or ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands
Our team and mission
The Space Debris Office is a part of the Space Safety Programme Office in the Directorate of Operations and constitutes the focal point for ESA’s space debris activities.
The Space Debris Office is coordinating the Agency’s space debris research activities, is responsible for all space debris related operational and analysis services in support of ESA missions in all phases, and for ESA’s cooperation on space debris topics at inter-agency level. The work of the Space Debris Office is based on a large set of operational and scientific analysis software that are developed, maintained, and operated under its control.
The related activities of the office cover:
* Characterisation of the space debris environment and its evolution through modelling and acquisition of observations
* Impact risk analysis
* Space debris mitigation and environment capacity
* Collision risk assessment and collision avoidance manoeuvre planning
* Re-entry forecasts and re-entry risk predictions
* Maintenance of infrastructure, such as a database on objects in space
* Outreach and raising awareness on space debris matters, e.g. through preparation of environment reports
Activities also include deep involvement in ESA’s “Zero Debris” approach through developing technologies and conducting studies, as well as contributing to standardisation activities. Further, the office has a key role in leading all space debris activities in ESA’s Space Safety Programme, i.e. development, demonstration, test and validation of technologies addressing instrumentation, data processing, risk modelling and assessments, automated collision avoidance, environment sustainability and impact assessments, and development of related missions.
You are encouraged to visit the ESA website:
Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship
You are expected to support missions and projects in all phases in implementing space debris mitigation measures. A special focus will be on contributing to the implementation of ESA’s Zero Debris approach, e.g. to update models, tools, and processes. Of specific interest is operating the new Debris Mitigation Facility (DMF) that provides a model-based approach to risk assessment for system designers and operators. With that work you will contribute to improving and designing novel techniques in the verification of compliance with the space debris mitigation guidelines and standards. You will be involved in related assessments of ESA or third-party missions in different development phases.
You will also have the possibility to contribute to activities in the Space Safety Programme related to different aspects of space debris observation and mitigation, including working on small missions and projects under development, such as addressing re-entry safety, space-based optical observation of space debris, coordination of spacecraft manoeuvres, laser tracking of space debris, or deploying a foil-based impact detector. In addition, it is foreseen that you will curate re-entry data that has been obtained from observations by the world-wide community. Such data shall help to facilitate further studying and predicting destructive re-entries, e.g. from ESA’s DRACO mission (under development) that is foreseen to provide such data as product.
Working in a small team, you are expected to actively contribute to on-going projects and research activities, to develop new tools, to present results to an international community, and to be involved in operational activities such as collision avoidance and re-entry predictions.
Technical competencies
Knowledge of relevant technical/functional domains
Relevant experience gained during internships, project work and/or extracurricular or other activities
General knowledge of the space sector and relevant activities
Knowledge of ESA and its programmes/projects
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 a technical or scientific discipline.
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 have a good knowledge of orbital mechanics and mathematics in general, and you should be familiar with Linux operating environments, and with scientific programming, i.e. programming in Python (while knowledge of Java, C++, or FORTRAN is considered an additional asset).
A good and demonstrated experience in system and/or software engineering, a spirit for defining, organising and following up study work in distributed teams, and proven organisation and documentation skills will be considered as assets as well. A basic knowledge of project management is expected.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.
At the Agency we value diversity, and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact us via email at contact.human.resources@esa.int.
Important Information and Disclaimer
During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests. Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.
The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.
Nationality and Languages
Please note that applications can only be considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia as Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).
According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will be given to external candidates from under-represented Member States *.
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.
*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.