ESA Graduate Trainee in Radiofrequency Equipment and Technologies

Our team and mission

The Radio Frequency Payloads & Technology Division (TEC-EF) is responsible from early definition to full qualification of RF payloads, TT&C subsystems, RF instruments and technologies for space and ground applications, including all equipment having a Radio Frequency space/ground interface and its associated Laboratories.

The division consists of four sections covering the following domains:

• Payloads with RF interface exploiting different technologies (e.g., analogue, digital, optical) including design and performance analysis tools and testing.
• RF active and passive instruments, including design and performance analysis, engineering and testing up to sub-millimetre waves.
• Telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) subsystems, payload data transmission (PDT) subsystems including deep space and near Earth transponders, proximity and intersatellite (ISL) link antennas and equipment, high speed downlink modulators, digital communication equipment.
• Wave-propagation and interaction, including signal impairments and regulatory aspects.
• Performance assessment of RF and Optical remote sensing data products (including spurious effects mitigation and calibration techniques).
• Antenna systems, architecture, technologies, and techniques for all space applications, including space vehicle TT&C and user segment terminals, sub-millimetre wave instruments and associated technologies, as well as antenna engineering, and RF testing of antenna and materials.
• RF equipment and technologies, including RF passive technologies, RF active technologies, vacuum electronics and high power RF phenomena (multipactor, corona, power handling and passive intermodulation).
• RF Payload digital equipment, and on-board Payload Signal and Data Processing algorithms and techniques for RF payloads and instruments in close collaboration with TEC-ED.
• Time and frequency generation and distribution equipment (e.g. microwave and optical with RF interfaces), techniques, performance tools, measurements and characterisation.

The Division manages laboratories to test/proof concepts soundness and validation as well as to enable research and development of novel concepts or techniques. They cover:

• Microwave and millimetre wave
• Payload engineering
• TT&C and PDT laboratory
• Antenna testing
• High power RF phenomena and high power space material characterisation

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

The question is: are you ready for the challenge?

You will have the opportunity to work in shaping the future of the ESA’s Microwave laboratories and prepare them to test and research novel state-of-the-art technologies. You will also have a high degree of exposure to our ESA Projects, ESA experts, Industrial partners and European Research Institutes.

Depending on your background and interest, you will be appointed to work on one of the following two areas of work:

Time and Frequency technologies and testing activities:

Several space missions require nowadays high-performance frequency stability sources and synchronization capabilities. You have the unique opportunity to work within ESA’s Time and Frequency working group on both Ground and Space segments, as well as satellite system concepts.

You will work in a specialized testing facility, focusing on: space atomic clock long-term testing and characterization; investigations on the atomic clock physics behaviour; nanosecond-accurate timescale generation and monitoring; contributing to the generation of worldwide Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); operation and maintenance of Ground atomic clocks; and innovative time and frequency transfer techniques.

Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to support development of new testing setups and capabilities to keep the state-of-the-art of the laboratory, such as: thermal-vacuum testing of miniaturized atomic clocks; AI/ML techniques for advanced atomic clocks anomaly detection; or high performance optical/RF time and frequency transfer.

Long-term Investigation Facility for RF Active equipment and technologies:

High-performance applications are increasingly adopting III-V devices (especially GaN) to achieve higher power, frequency, and linearity. Such semiconductor compound requires specific burn-in and stabilisation process to ensure long term reliability and a stable output power over time.

To support this trend, the Graduate Trainee will actively contribute to the development and operation of this specialised facility. This position will involve hands-on activities such as setting up and running RF burn-in and stabilisation experiments, integrating test benches, and monitoring device performance under stress conditions. The trainee will also assist with data collection, postprocessing and analysis, helping refine test procedures for space-grade reliability.

Time permitting, the trainee will also be involved in the research of analog and hybrid beamforming for phased array applications. This will cover assessment and testing of diverse analog beamforming solutions (test boards with beamforming RFICs) from ESA contracts and development of a beamforming test bed that will serve as an evaluation platform for projects.

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 Telecommunications/Electrical/Electronic/Microwave Engineering or Physics.

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.

Specific competence in one of the following disciplines is considered an asset:

• Knowledge of design and simulation tools such as ADS, MWO, HFSS, CST or MICIAN.
• Experience in RF testing as well as programming and data processing e.g. MATLAB, LabView, Python, C++.

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.

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.