ESA Graduate Trainee in Spacecraft System Engineering

Our team and mission

The RAMSES mission, (Rapid Apophis Mission for SpacE Safety), is the second cornerstone mission of Planetary Defense (after Hera), under the ESA Space Safety Programme (S2P). It aims to take advantage of the extremely close Earth flyby of the asteroid Apophis on Friday 13 April 2029, to perform a detailed characterisation of such asteroid. This mission is a response to the need for enhanced planetary defense capabilities and provides an unprecedented scientific opportunity due to the Earth's gravitational interaction with the asteroid's structure.

This mission is a high visibility ESA-led partnership with JAXA, NASA and possibly other international partners, aiming to leverage the extremely rare close Earth flyby of the asteroid Apophis to perform a detailed analysis. This mission will dramatically advance humanity’s knowledge of asteroids, asteroid interactions with the Earth and asteroid modelling for planetary defense.

The RAMSES Project Team is responsible for the implementation of the mission i.e. the design, development, assembly, integration, verification and validation of the RAMSES spacecraft as well as its hosted payloads and two CubeSats. The project is building on the heritage of the Hera mission, successfully launched on 7 October 2024, and is characterised by a high schedule pressure to achieve the launch date in April 2028.

The project is currently in the “Phase C”, focussing the finalisation of the detailed design and the early procurement of all platform equipment. The Critical Design Review (CDR) is scheduled for Q4 2025, marking the start of the spacecraft assembly and testing activities.

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

As an ESA Graduate Trainee within the RAMSES project team, you will be part of the Engineering team, working under the guidance of the team’s senior system engineers in the execution of engineering tasks related to the design and verification of the RAMSES spacecraft and/or its payloads. You will be exposed to most engineering aspects of the mission and will acquire hands-on experience on the key processes of a major space mission development with a groundbreaking fast pace.

Due to the dynamic nature of such a fast mission development, you will have the opportunity to:

• Support the detailed definition of the RAMSES mission and its system and subsystem requirements;
• Support the spacecraft design and control the system budgets. Develop and maintain independent budgets and perform dedicated analyses when necessary;
• Participate to selected subsystem level design reviews (depending on Your specific field of expertise);
• Support the design process of the Payloads and of the Hosted CubeSats;
• Support the monitoring of the industrial activities at all levels for the maintenance of the critical project schedule and risk register;
• Participate to the organisation and execution of the spacecraft Critical Design Review;
• Support the verification process for requirements to be verified by Analysis / Review of Design. Support the handling of requests for deviation/waiver from industry;
• Support the formulation of appropriate specifications for the tests to be performed in phase D, as well as its verification and requirements closure;
• Participate to communication and dissemination activities as needed.

On the basis of the mission development pace, and taking into account your background and interests, you might be assigned additional short-term engineering tasks in support to the RAMSES mission development.

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

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.

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

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.