Junior Professional in Business Process Automation and Optimisation

This opportunity is part of ESA’s Junior Professional Programme, offering candidates with up to three years of relevant professional experience after their master's degree a four-year assignment combining on-the-job learning with mobility and development opportunities. Subject to performance, the intention is to offer an indefinite contract starting at the end of the four years.

Developmental assignments form an integral part of the Junior Professional Programme and may entail a temporary relocation to another ESA establishment or other location.

Description

The CFO Directorate plays a central role in the implementation of the projects subscribed at the ESA Ministerial Council in November 2025 and will drive a more integrated and responsive approach to financial planning and controlling, budget monitoring, procurement and industrial policy.

The CFO Strategy and Coordination Office supports cross-functional coordination and process review activities across the Directorate, promoting efficiency, modernisation and coherent approaches to data, performance monitoring and business processes. By working across finance, controlling, procurement and industrial policy functions, the office contributes to strengthening collaboration and supporting continuous improvement initiatives across ESA operations.

Within this context, the role will contribute to assessing existing business processes and identifying opportunities for optimisation and simplification. Particular focus will be placed on reducing manual activities and exploring the use of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, automation tools and digital solutions to support process streamlining and improve decision-making. The role will work closely with business stakeholders and technical teams to help identify, prototype and support innovative solutions contributing to a more efficient and data-driven way of working.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• Investigating use cases for AI in the CFO Directorate (in the areas of procurement, finance, controlling and industrial policy), both in retrospective reporting (i.e. what has happened) as well as predictive control (i.e. what is likely to happen), and supporting the implementation of potential solutions.
• Contribute to exploratory projects involving machine learning models, Artificial Intelligence and automation tools, supporting use cases such as predictive analytics, data classification, process automation and AI-assisted decision support, as needed.
• Support the assessment and analysis of existing business processes across CFO areas and identify opportunities for simplification, automation and efficiency gains.
• Help gather, analyse and document requirements from business stakeholders and contribute to translating business needs into potential technical solutions.
• Analyse structured and unstructured data to extract actionable insights and support process improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to the design, prototyping and testing of AI-enabled solutions and digital assistants (e.g. AI agents, workflow automation tools, predictive, classification or optimisation models).
• Explore and evaluate emerging AI technologies and identify potential applications within CFO business areas.
• Collaborate with domain experts, data engineers and software developers to support the implementation and adoption of innovative solutions.
• Perform data analysis activities to validate data accuracy, identify trends and support business process improvement initiatives.
• Assist in troubleshooting technical issues, resolving data discrepancies and addressing process or data flow bottlenecks.
• Support the assessment of opportunities arising from ongoing corporate evolutions and transformation initiatives (e.g. S/4HANA migration and ongoing developments in finance and procurement areas), ensuring alignment with future business processes and systems.
• Assist in the identification and resolution of data quality and process-related issues.
• Contribute to ensuring that AI-enabled solutions follow good practices related to security, explainability and responsible use principles.
• Stay up to date with the latest advances in AI, machine learning and automation technologies.

Contribute to the automation and optimisation of reporting and business processes:

• Support the integration of data from multiple sources to create cohesive and insightful reports supporting business decision-making.
• Assist in the optimisation of existing reports, dashboards and analytical tools to improve performance, usability and accuracy.
• Contribute to identifying opportunities to automate recurring reporting activities and reduce manual effort through digital workflows and automation solutions.
• Support the development of reporting and analytical solutions enabling improved monitoring, transparency and decision support across CFO activities.
• Participate in strategic discussions and contribute to initiatives ensuring that digital solutions, process improvements and AI-enabled capabilities are aligned with business objectives.

Development programme

In addition to daily work, you will take part in an extensive learning and development programme. From day one, you will learn on the job and benefit from tailored development opportunities, including participation in technical and key skills training courses.

There is also a mobility component to the Junior Professional Programme that can be either an internal rotation to another team within ESA, an external secondment outside of ESA or a combination of both.

This programme is designed to provide the required knowledge and skills for a career at ESA, with opportunities to develop professional experience and competencies, learn from ESA experts and contribute to ESA activities.

Technical competencies

• Experience with Artificial Intelligence, machine learning concepts and emerging digital technologies (e.g. Generative AI, AI agents, workflow automation or related tools), with the ability to assess and explore potential applications supporting business processes and decision-making.
• Ability to assess business processes and identify opportunities for simplification, automation and efficiency improvements.
• Experience with data visualisation and analytical tools (e.g. Power BI, Excel or similar), together with knowledge of data querying or programming languages (e.g. SQL, Python, DAX, VBA or similar) and data integration concepts.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with a focus on data quality, process optimisation and continuous improvement.
• Familiarity with finance, controlling, procurement, industrial policy or digital transformation initiatives would be considered an asset.

Behavioural competencies

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

Education and professional experience

A master's degree in engineering, particularly in data science, computer science or business analytics is required for this post with up to three years of professional experience.

Nationality and Languages

Applications are only considered from nationals 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, the United Kingdom, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

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.