Internal Research Fellowship Opportunity in the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. For this purpose, we welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.
This post is classified F2 on the Coordinated Organisationsโ salary scale.
Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands
Our team and mission
This research fellowship will be carried out in ESAโs Advanced Concepts Team (ACT), a group of researchers, mainly research fellows (post-docs) and recently graduated early stage researchers from a wide variety of academic fields aiming for an academic career. The Teamโs task is to monitor, perform and foster research on advanced space systems, innovative concepts and working methods. Externally, it interacts almost exclusively with academia and operates as a truly interdisciplinary team bound by the highest scientific standards. Via its research, the Team acts as a pathfinder to explore novel and potentially promising areas for ESA and the space sector, ranging from applied to basic fundamental research topics. An important task of the Team is to communicate scientific trends and results as input to the Agencyโs strategic planning.
You are also strongly encouraged to familiarise yourself with the research carried out by the ACT (https://www.esa.int/act), in particular in the field of mission analysis and the related open-source projects.
You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: https://www.esa.int/
Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship
You will carry out research in the field of advanced mission analysis, with emphasis on the comparison of non-traditional guidance, navigation and control techniques such as imitation learning, deep reinforcement learning and model predictive control. Areas of research will be partly chosen by you based on your own expert judgement and insight into trends and developments along with your motivation, and partly chosen by the Team to follow the Agencyโs strategic directions.
Scientifically, you will:
โข propose and perform research in the field of mission analysis, where appropriate in collaboration with universities of ESA Member States (in particular through the Ariadna scheme: www.esa.int/ariadna);
โข explore synergies between machine learning, artificial intelligence and artificial neural networks and the fundamentals of spaceflight mechanics, celestial mechanics and mission design;
โข propose and perform a comparative analysis between new emerging paradigms for on-board G&C, including G&CNets (trained through both imitation learning and reinforcement learning) and non-linear model predictive control;
โข further develop open-source software developed by the ACT for use in advanced mission analysis: pygmo (optimisation), pykep (astrodynamics)and pyaudi (differential algebra);
โข coordinate the Teamโs participation in competitions in the field of aerospace, including GTOC (Global Trajectory Optimization Competition);
โข organise, design and administrate competitions on proposed topics via the European Space Agencyโs Kelvins platform (https://kelvins.esa.int).
As an ACT researcher, you will:
โข publish results in peer-reviewed publications and use modern communication tools to communicate with the broader audience within and beyond ESA;
โข lead and assist interdisciplinary projects with other ACT researchers;
โข participate with the Team in the assessment of proposed space system concepts - as these are not solely restricted to artificial intelligence and computer science - and propose new concepts and assessment studies;
โข perform and participate in assessments on subjects of strategic interest to ESA, providing in-house expertise for strategy development;
โข benefit, for your research, from the technology and engineering expertise available at ESTEC.
Technical competencies Knowledge relevant to the field of researchResearch/publication recordAbility to conduct research autonomouslyBreadth of exposure coming from past and/or current research/activitiesAbility to gather and share relevant informationGeneral interest in space and space research
Behavioural competencies
Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking
Education
You should have recently completed, or be close to completion of a PhD in a related technical or scientific discipline. Preference will be given to applications submitted by candidates within five years of receiving their PhD. In particular for this position, the following is required:
You must have obtained:
โข a degree in engineering, informatics, computer science or celestial mechanics;
โข A PhD (completed before taking up duty) in celestial mechanics or aerospace engineering, with the subject of your thesis relevant to the description of the tasks outlined above.
Additional requirements
You should also have:
โข Aptitude for and interest in prospective interdisciplinary research;
โข Ability to contextualise specialised areas of research and quickly assess their potential with respect to other domains and applications (rapid prototyping);
โข Academic networking to add active links to universities and research institutes;
โข Ability to work in a team, while being able to work individually regarding your personal research plans and directions;
โข Natural curiosity and a passion for new subjects and research areas;
โข Proficiency in C++ and Python programming languages;
โข Experience in open-source projects, GPU programming, distributed computing and cloud computing would be considered strong assets.
Specific characteristics of the research fellowship
The position of Research Fellow in ESAโs Advanced Concepts Team is similar to a regular academic post-doc placement with, however, a few key differences:
1. ACT Research Fellows have no teaching obligations. However, they will likely be involved in the mentoring of Young Graduate Trainees and student interns within the Team.
2. As the Team does not have the position of professor or similar, ACT Research Fellows have more academic independence than most post-docs. They therefore have more freedom but also more responsibility for their research directions and approaches.
3. ACT Research Fellows join a diverse, changing and interdisciplinary research team embedded in a large space agency, in contrast to a more specialised, focused research group with closely related or similar competencies.
4. ACT Research Fellows need to actively reach out to other disciplines, bringing to bear their competencies in interdisciplinary research projects and encouraging other researchers to join them in their core research projects (research spanning the intersection of various disciplines).
5. ACT Research Fellows need to communicate their expertise and research results internally and externally, including the potential implications and importance for ESAโs long-term strategy.
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.
Other information
For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.
For further information on the Internal Research Fellowship Programme please visit: Internal Research Fellowship
The Agency may require applicants to undergo selection tests.
In addition to your CV and your motivation letter, please add your proposal of no more than 5 pages outlining your proposed research in the \"additional documents\" field of the \"application information\" section.
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 at contact.human.resources@esa.int.
Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria and Cyprus as European Cooperating States (ECS).
According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to candidates from under-represented Member States*.
In accordance with the European Space Agencyโs security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service.
*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.