Internal Research Fellow (PostDoc) in Biomimetics

This research fellowship will be in ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team (ACT), ESA’s internal research think tank for advanced space concepts and technologies.

Our team and mission

The ACT is a multidisciplinary group of postdoctoral fellows and early-career researchers who work in close partnership with leading universities to explore ideas that are still a long way off from becoming part of mainstream space engineering, but might prove disruptive in the future. The team operates to high academic standards, publishes in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and has built up a broad European and international network through its collaboration schemes and open-science activities. Through its research, the ACT provides ESA with early scientific insight into emerging trends and acts as a pathfinder for novel technologies and working methods across all space domains.

The ACT has been a pioneer of biomimetics within ESA since the early 2000s, when it initiated the first systematic studies on biologically inspired solutions to space engineering challenges. Since then, the team has developed a rich biomimetics portfolio ranging from bio-inspired guidance and navigation, for example insect-eye-inspired motion detectors for planetary landing and insect-inspired navigation algorithms, to evolutionary and neuromorphic approaches to autonomous control, as well as soft-robotic concepts and bio-inspired materials for sensing and protection in extreme environments. Recent projects include work on “evomimetics”, which integrates evolutionary biology into biomimetic design by studying sea-urchin spine micro-architectures and using these as templates for multifunctional, mechanically efficient structures. In parallel, ACT researchers have explored spider-inspired soft actuators for extraterrestrial deployment, bio-inspired robotics experiments on the International Space Station, and novel neuromorphic and spiking-neural-network concepts for resource-constrained autonomous spacecraft.

The overarching goal of this research line is to connect deep biological understanding, spanning evolution, biomechanics, materials and neural computation, with concrete space applications, turning nature-inspired principles into testable designs, models and algorithms for future missions. Biologists joining the ACT will find an environment where they can bring their expertise in organismal biology, ecology, neuroscience or biomaterials into direct dialogue with experts in space systems, mission analysis, artificial intelligence and control, to co-create new concepts for space exploration.

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

You will take intellectual ownership of a research line in biomimetics for space, with a strong emphasis on original ideas and their translation into concrete space-relevant concepts. Within the ACT’s collaborative environment, research topics are defined jointly, but you will be expected to drive the scientific agenda, identify promising directions and lead the corresponding developments. These activities will be aligned with ESA’s strategic priorities while leaving room for curiosity-driven exploration.

Scientifically, you will:

• Propose and carry out novel research in biomimetics for space applications, often in collaboration with universities and research groups in ESA Member States.
• Advance biomimetics through disciplined cross-domain collaboration, combining biological insight with engineering analysis to define credible research pathways and space-relevant outcomes.
• Scout, follow and, when useful, connect with international, European and national research programmes in biomimetics and related areas, and bring a space engineering perspective to these communities.
• Build on and extend previous biomimetics projects of the ACT, revisiting earlier ideas with new tools, data and perspectives.

As an ACT researcher, you will:

• Publish results in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and use modern communication channels, including seminars, open-source repositories and outreach, to share results inside and outside ESA.
• Initiate and contribute to interdisciplinary projects with other ACT researchers, combining biomimetics with areas such as AI, mission analysis, guidance and control, or unconventional computing.
• Participate with the team in the assessment of innovative space-system concepts, well beyond biomimetics alone, and propose new concepts, studies and “what-if” scenarios.
• Contribute scientific insight to topics of strategic interest for ESA, providing in-house expertise that can influence long-term technology and exploration roadmaps.

Technical competencies

• Knowledge relevant to the field of research
• Research/publication record
• Ability to conduct research autonomously
• Breadth of exposure coming from past and/or current research/activities
• Ability to gather and share relevant information
• General interest in space and space research

Behavioural competencies

• Result Orientation
• Operational Efficiency
• Fostering Cooperation
• Relationship Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Forward Thinking

Education

You should have recently completed, within the past five years, or be close to completion of a PhD in biology, or potentially another discipline with a solid biomimetics focus, subject to the thesis being relevant to the description of the tasks outlined above.

Additional requirements

• Ability for and interest in prospective interdisciplinary research.
• Aptitude for contextualising specialised areas of research and quickly assessing their potential with respect to other domains and applications.
• Academic networking to add functioning links to universities and research institutes.
• Ability to work in a team, while being able to work individually on your own personal research plans and directions.
• Natural curiosity and a passion for new subjects and research areas.
• Proficiency in computer programming and data analysis.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team.

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.

Important Information and Disclaimer

Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.