Intern in the Mission Operations Department, XMM-Newton Mission

Internship

Overview

Support mission operations and performance assessment for XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL missions.

You have:

• You must be a university student, preferably studying at master’s level.
• Good knowledge of English or French is required.
• Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.
• Knowledge of Python or other programming languages is essential.
• Experience in data analysis is crucial.
• Usage of AI tools is essential.
• You must be able to prove enrollment at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Contract

This is a Internship contract. It usually requires 0 years of experience, depending on education. More about Internship contracts.

Location ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany

Our team and mission

The Astronomy and Fundamental Physics Missions Division is responsible for the design, implementation and operations of the mission operations ground segment and the spacecraft operations for Science and selected Space Safety Programme missions in the area of operations, typically from start of phase B through in-flight commissioning to routine mission operations until the end of mission.

The division comprises a variety of missions that are either in preparation, like Plato and Ariel, or in operations, like Euclid, XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL. XMM-Newton e. g. is an X-ray observatory that combines the largest mirror assembly ever flown with advanced detector technology such as CCD cameras and high-resolution grating spectrometers and an optical monitor, observing cosmic objects like black holes, active galaxies (galaxies that have a small core of emission embedded at the center of an otherwise typical galaxy) or super nova remnants (when dying stars explode as supernovae, they usually eject a chaotic web of dust and gas).

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship : Near Realtime Monitoring and trend analysis of Spacecraft and Instruments

The interns will support the XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL Flight Control Team to execute the mission operations and to assess the performance of the missions and their ground segment.

You will build up experience in the following areas:

• general insight in the know how, organization and culture of satellite operations.
• systems that measure the performance of the various ground segment and spacecraft elements.

Specifically they will have the opportunity to support the transfer of an existing spacecraft monitoring system to a more modern space and ground awareness system including potentially already existing tools from the ESOC AI roadmap with standard monitoring and evaluation tools/scripts. This will also involve interaction with EGTs at ESOC and ESAC

The specific tasks will be based on your actual skills and interests. Therefore, you will gain valuable knowledge and experience in the design, functions and operations of a satellite control centre with emphasis on both analyzing housekeeping data to monitor spacecraft health and diagnose faults - and monitoring ground segment status and performance.

Details on the work: XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL subsystems are currently monitored live via the mission control system with so called Out of Limits, which indicate if a system has a transient problem, starts to fail or has failed already. A monitoring software using IDL data language extracts vital parameters from an archive called MUST and plots their behaviour or calculates derived observables to assess mission status. The output of those systems is displayed on a webserver or notifications are sent via email to users.

In the framework of a migration of the current webserver to a fully new system in 2026 the team plans to migrate the monitoring code to Python and extend it with new features of trend analysis and overall system monitoring. Here, already existing AI tools from the ESA AI roadmap shall be used and/or integrated. A new monitoring system is now be developed that utilises shared Python libraries. The interns will enhance, customize, and refine already existing basic functionalities.

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 must be a university student, preferably studying at master’s level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your University for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.

During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.

Knowledge of Python or other programming languages and/or experience in data analysis and/or usage of AI tools are essential.

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 During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding internship 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

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Applicants from Canada as a Cooperating State can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).

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Potential interview questions

Added 10 months ago - Updated 9 months ago - Source: jobs.esa.int