Junior Professional in Model-Based and Digital Engineering of the Argonaut System

Join ESA as a Junior Professional in Model-Based and Digital Engineering of the Argonaut System

This post is part of ESA’s Junior Professional Programme. We are looking for enthusiastic candidates with up to 2–3 years of relevant professional experience after their Master's degree to join ESA for a four-year assignment. During this time, you will be actively working and learning on the job and will benefit from valuable mobility and developmental opportunities that will prepare you for a successful career at ESA. Subject to performance, it is therefore the intention to offer you an indefinite contract which will start at the end of the four years.

The selection process for the 2025 cohort of Junior Professionals will take place during Spring 2025, with a projected start date in October or November 2025.

Recruitment will take place at the A1 grade. At the end of the fourth year and if you are offered an indefinite contract at the end of your Junior Professional assignment, you will be upgraded to the A2 grade.

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

Description

Junior Professional in Digitalisation of the ARGONAUT System: HRE-LAE

This Junior Professional position is within the Engineering team of the Argonaut Programme. The Argonaut is the vehicle that will deliver a campaign comprising multiple exploration missions to the Moon throughout the 2030s as part of Terrae Novae (E3P). Some missions may be ESA contributions to the NASA-led Artemis programme, while others may be purely European or undertaken in partnership with other global space agencies.

Each Argonaut mission will use a recurring element, the Lander Descent Element (LDE). The LDE will be compatible with very different specific missions such as logistics cargo support for Artemis, the deployment of infrastructure such as the charging station, and science at the Lunar south pole or even on the far side at the equator. It will take advantage of the ongoing Gateway and the Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS). In particular, the LDE will be compatible with the ArgoNET mission which will be the first mission and is expected to deliver navigation, power and telecommunications services on the lunar surface.

The Programme, consisting of multiple elements, missions and stakeholders, requires a complete, consistent and enduring encapsulation of all components of the Programme cycle to ensure performance, efficiency, reliability, quality control and data consistency. To this end, the Programme has started to digitalise the processes through the use of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools.

Duties

As a Junior Professional, you will be responsible for further enhancing the digitalisation of the Argonaut Lunar System across all elements, including the flight (lander, passenger/payloads) and ground segments (including operations), the various missions and the interfaces with the numerous stakeholders within and outside the Programme (including NASA).

Your primary task will be to define and implement state-of-the art digitalisation of the Programme, complementing and improving the existing MBSE implementation, as well as introducing further digitalisation methods to enhance the efficiency and consistency of the Programme’s development and its end-to-end performance. You will ensure that the current MBSE tools and models are maintained while actively identifying and implementing improvements. You will also identify and implement innovations for the current digital environment. The following areas of interest will form the basis of the initial potential improvements, but you will be expected to identify and propose further opportunities:

• Seamless interaction of MBSE instances amongst stakeholders
• Digital twins of the different segments/elements
• Extended reality (XR)
• End-to-end (E2E) performance modelling
• Performance predictions using artificial intelligence

The outcome should be a state-of-the-art digital reproduction of the Programme enabling:

• single source of truth for all aspects of the Programme and across stakeholders
• digital continuity across multiple missions over a decade
• improved efficiency for design, development, verification and operations
• improved performance modelling, supporting end-to-end aspects
• digital testing of complex interactions (complementing physical testing)

The competence acquired during this task will culminate in a digital system view that will benefit the complex Argonaut Programme and will provide the project with the flexibility it will need to respond to the changes that will come in the future Lunar strategies.

Development programme

In addition to your 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.

Furthermore, there is 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. Internal rotations aim to boost your professional experience and knowledge of the European Space Agency, whereas external secondments aim to boost your professional experience and knowledge of the European space sector.

Given that the role involves deep and extensive knowledge of the Programme, the development of the following skills will be possible:

• the ability to perform critical analyses of design choices proposed by industry, and to identify alternatives, when necessary;
• the skills to negotiate the terms of cooperation with partners and to safeguard ESA’s interests;
• the capacity to initiate, set up and lead working groups effectively;
• the ability to collect and implement lessons learned from the different stakeholders, including the ESA supervisor;
• knowledge of how ESA interacts with various stakeholders to help prepare for the future in an effective manner.

This programme represents a significant investment by ESA in your personal and professional development and is designed to provide you with the required knowledge and skills for a career at ESA. You can expect to be given many opportunities to develop your professional experience and competencies, to learn from ESA experts and to contribute to ESA activities.

Technical competencies

• Knowledge of relevant technical domains
• Relevant experience gained during internships/project work
• Breadth of exposure resulting from past and/or current research/activities
• Knowledge of ESA and its programmes/projects

Behavioural competencies

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

Education

A master's degree in a relevant engineering discipline. A master’s degree in a scientific discipline may be considered relevant if the core subjects include digitalisation methods.

Additional requirements

You should have between two and three years of professional experience, preferably in a relevant domain, after completion of your Master's degree.

In addition, experience in model-based systems engineering and requirements management is required and experience in the following would be considered an advantage:

• Security engineering
• Digital twins
• AI/XR

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 information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions 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.

Note that ESA is in the process of transitioning to a Matrix setup, which could lead to organisational changes affecting this position.

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 are only 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, the United Kingdom and Canada, 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.