Our team and mission

You will be based in the Ground Segment Multi-Mission Preparation Systems Section, System and Applications Engineering Division, Ground Systems Engineering & Innovation Department.

The System and Applications Engineering Division is responsible for software systems used during the preparation and the operational phases of most ESA space missions including:

mission control systems (to monitor and operate the satellite); mission planning systems and mission automation systems; spacecraft simulators used for testing, validation and training, and service provision data centres.

The missions supported include the ESA Earth Explorer, science, planetary and exploration missions, as well as most of the EU Copernicus missions.

The Division is also very active in software innovation, conducting research and development studies on software technologies applied to space missions, with a focus on the systems listed above. This includes for example standardisation of interfaces with other space agencies, such as NASA, JAXA, CNES and DLR, cubesats, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, model-based system engineering, security and artificial Intelligence, as well as software technologies such as service oriented architecture, web technology, advanced human-machine interfaces and cloud computing.

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: https://www.esa.int/

www.esa.int/About_Us/ESOC 

https://download.esa.int/esoc/esa_ESOC_BR_web_2015.pdf

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

A key sub-system in spacecraft is the on-board software, whose role is to monitor and control the system in flight and handle communication with the ground. 

For each mission, the Agency uses a high-fidelity simulator for testing, training and validation activities to ensure that all operational tasks can be tested in a realistic scenario before being executed on the actual satellite. Given the impact of the on-board software on the behaviour and the responses of the spacecraft, the simulator uses the actual on-board software image, executed by a CPU emulator which runs the image. The Agency is currently investigating the enhancement of the traditional simulator with Digital Twin technology, such that the simulator becomes highly representative of the current state through the use of live telemetry. This is expected to present significant opportunities in the areas of error detection, anomaly investigation and mission planning, among others. 

To date, it has been possible to execute simulations in real time, at a mininum, thanks to the significant difference in the performance of space-qualified CPUs versus high-performance, server-class CPUs available on the ground.

As space systems rapidly become more performant, this gap is closing. It is expected that real-time performance will not be feasible for the next generation of space qualified CPUs, such as LEON5, with currently available emulation techniques. Traditionally, considerations of cost, feasibility, and benefit have meant that simulators have not been developed for the relevant missions, partly due to difficulties in on-board software emulation. 

As a research fellow, you will focus on addressing the issues associated with providing a future simulation platform capable of executing more rapidly than in real-time for ESA/ESOC use cases. This includes, but is not limited to:

• investigating approaches for accelerating existing emulation;
• assessing new emulation technology and tooling;
• assessing alternatives to emulation, including identification of pros, cons and trade-offs, for example
  • limitations and benefits of approaches for the cross-compilation of the on-board software for direct execution;
  • usage of Hardware-in the-Loop solutions;
  • limitations and benefits of the use of Digital Twin approaches for spacecraft on-board software;
• coordinating with other ongoing initiatives in the Agency relating to the topic, for example RATIOSIM; 
• coordinating with all stakeholders including flight control teams and simulation officers.
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You may focus on a selected subset of the items listed above depending on your interests and background.

Your day-to-day activities span a wide spectrum, from stand-alone research, supervision of student trainees completing internships, master theses and potentially PhDs, lab activities, supervision of industrial research contracts and the development of proof-of-concept software to contributions to the Agency’s R&D/investment roadmaps.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

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

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You should have recently completed, or be close to completion of a PhD in a relevant technical or scientific discipline. Preference will be given to applications submitted by candidates within five years of receiving their PhD.

Additional requirements

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multi-cultural environment, both independently and as part of a team.

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.

During the interview, your motivation and overall professional perspective and career goals will be explored.