ESA Graduate Trainee in Envision Venus Surface Targets Analysis

Our team and mission

The candidate will work in the ESA Science Directorate, Science Engagement and Oversight Office, in the Solar System Section. This section hosts the Project Scientists of the ESA Solar System missions, who are responsible for ensuring a maximum scientific return from their missions throughout all phases within the technical, financial, programmatic and safety constraints.

In particular, the candidate will work with the Envision mission Project Scientist on scientific topics related to the mission. The candidate will also interact with other Envision project ESA colleagues at ESTEC and in ESAC, and with Envision science colleagues in the instrument teams across the ESA Member States and in the US.

There will be other ESA Graduate trainees in the team, and many across the ESA-ESTEC site that you can connect, exchange and socialize with, as well as Research Fellows (post-doc level).

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

The candidate will be tasked to work on the analysis of the prioritized Envision Venus targets that have been identified by the Envision Regions of Interest working group and science teams as relevant to address the Envision Science Objectives.

In a first step, your task will be to map the targets to the Envision science objectives, make target statistics, and check for the relevance and balancing of the target choices for the scientific analysis to be performed with the observations. For this, you will make use of literature review of the Envision Red Book and other relevant peer-reviewed papers available.

In a second step, you will assess the prioritized Regions of Interest that have been built from the prioritized target list, assessing the balancing of the targets and derived Regions of Interest towards the science objectives.

You will also assess the final Envision instrument operations planning, using mission constraints and the prioritized Regions of Interest list as input.

A further objective is to review and, where needed, guide the Envision target and ROI compilation and validation process, the tools used, and to present the results to the Envision Science Team for their assessment.

Finally, you will be asked to study available Venus surface geology maps and make statistics for the different classified geological types and their identification, as used for the building of the target lists. For this task, automated tools may be developed and used as appropriate (e.g. for geological feature identification and classification). Magellan radar images may also be used.

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

Education

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of your master’s degree in physics with a specialization related to Planetary and/or Earth Science. A background in planetary geology is an asset.

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.

You should also have good analytical skills, and show a good track record in computer programming and data analysis. You should be self-motivated and positive towards learning and developing new skills. This is particularly important if your background is not Venus and/or planetary geology, geodesy or atmospheric chemistry, in which case self-study and learning is needed through literature and online programming search and review in addition to the guidance and tutoring you will receive.

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).

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.