ESA Graduate Trainee in the Space Transportation Product Assurance and Safety Office

Overview

Perform, lead, and facilitate activities in Space Transportation Product Assurance and Safety Office.

You have:

• You should have recently completed or be in the final year of your master’s degree in a technical or scientific discipline.
• Knowledge of relevant technical/functional domains.
• General knowledge of the space sector and relevant activities.
• Knowledge of ESA and its programmes/projects.
• Familiarity with modern IT tools and analytical problem-solving attitude.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills.
• Capability to work with autonomy and question the status quo to identify improvements.
• Experience working in international teams is considered an asset.

Location

ESA Headquarters, Paris, France or ESRIN, Frascati (Rome), Italy

Our team and mission

The Directorate of Space Transportation mission is the European independent access to and freedom in space. The directorate’s main activities are related to the:

• Development and Exploitation of Ariane and Vega launch systems
• Maintenance and upgrading of the European Space port (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana
• Development of new launch and space transportation systems, including reusable demonstrators
• Preparation of future competitive and clean space transportation solutions through maturation of core technologies

Within the Directorate of Space Transportation, the Product Assurance and Safety Office’s role is to verify the fulfilment of PA and Safety requirements in the projects/programs. These requirements are in place to maximize the mission’s success and mitigate the associate risks to the involved people and infrastructures, as well as, to the public community. They include the implementation of sustainable exploitation, and exploration, of the Space with solid zero-debris policy.

Given the independent and transactional nature of the Product Assurance and Safety responsibilities, the office is active in leading the implementation of standards in the documentation and info management, as well as in contributing to the dissemination and implementation of approaches aimed at reducing the development/operations cycle time in compliance with applicable standards. Lately, the Product Assurance and Safety Office facilitate the transfer of knowledge across the directorate and the Agency. The Product Assurance and Safety Office is responsible for the directorate Quality Management System and as such in charge of operational excellence activities aimed at simplifying and reducing the internal processes in conjunction with an enhanced visualization of their output and performance (e.g. through dedicated cockpits and Key Performance Indicators).

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

In the framework of this traineeship, you will perform, lead, and facilitate activities as support to your tutor, including, but not limited to:

• the extension of ESA mission classification to Space Transportation Systems
• the deployment and implementation of a data driven Quality and Safety approach by rolling out dedicated cockpits to visualize pre-agreed data and definition of best practices to enhance quantitative analyses
• the collection of Lessons Learnt from STS projects, especially STS PNRR and FLPP and the implementation of identified recommendations
• the Quality Management System evolution especially in improving the actual processes related to knowledge management (e.g. effective and efficient management of lessons learnt)

Quality improvement activities within the industry aimed at increasing the robustness of the current and future launch systems

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

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

Education

You should have recently completed or be in the final year of your master’s degree in in a technical or scientific discipline

Additional requirements

To be completed by the Manager as appropriate:

You need to be capable to work with autonomy and questioning the status quo to identify and introduce substantial improvements with the aim of capitalizing as much as possible on new technologies and New Space approaches. You need to be familiar with modern IT tools and posses an analytical and problem-solving attitude to facilitate the implementation of “easy” solutions to “complex” problems.

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. Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.

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, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

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 [email protected].

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.

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 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).

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 be given to external candidates from under-represented Member States*.

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.

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.

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Potential interview questions

Added 7 months ago - Updated 6 months ago - Source: jobs.esa.int