Internal Research Fellow (PostDoc) in a Model-based Digital Twin supporting MDO of Launch Vehicles

Our team and mission

This research fellowship will be undertaken in the ESA Directorate of Space Transportation Systems (D/STS), within the STS PNRR Integrated Project Team. As a Research Fellow, you will benefit from the technological development streams devoted to consolidating knowledge of cryogenic LOx-methane propulsion systems through demonstration flight tests and to preparing the key building blocks to be used in the new generation of green launch vehicles, with the aim of reducing recurring costs while extending operational capabilities. 

The STS PNRR Integrated Project Team is made up of young, enthusiastic and highly motivated engineers with a solid academic background and experience in industry covering a broad variety of fields such as propulsion, avionics systems, systems engineering and integration, mechanical systems, assembly, integration and testing, product assurance and safety, and security. The Team interacts closely with academia and the aerospace industry, operating in a truly multidisciplinary fashion and fostering research on innovative systems, design concepts, lean development approaches (e.g. AGILE), and working methods. Through its daily work, it acts as a pathfinder for future low-cost and green launch systems.

The Directorate of Space Transportation is a Programme Directorate within the ESA matrix structure, and its activities are performed in cooperation with the other ESA Directorates and DG Services, as appropriate. It operates as part of the ESA Enabling and Support area, with the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC) and the Directorate of Operations (D/OPS).

In this respect, the Director of Space Transportation Systems is in particular responsible for proposing and implementing a strategy for the European space transportation sector. Such a strategy includes a long-term vision of the sector and depends in part on the service demand of institutional and commercial users while promoting private initiatives, identifying potential transformations, and proposing action to tackle upcoming challenges. The Director is in charge of preparing the future of the sector by devising relevant proposals for all new programmes and activities in space transportation, taking into consideration the Agency’s industrial policy.

You are strongly encouraged to familiarise yourself with the technological activities performed by STS PNRR, in particular in the field of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and the development of a model-based digital twin facilitating a fast and rigorous requirements verification process within the MBSE collaborative environment.
 

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 model-based digital systems engineering, with particular emphasis on the development of a model-based digital twin of the system design disciplines (i.e. aerodynamics, thermal, trajectory and flight mechanics, structural, dynamics, etc.) facilitating a fast, rigorous and robust requirements verification process within the MBSE collaborative environment. Your areas of research will be chosen both based on your own expert judgement and insight into trends and developments, and on the Team’s requirements to ensure alignment with the strategic directions of the STS PNRR Programme.

Scientifically, you will in particular:

• propose and conduct rigorous research in the field of model-based digital systems engineering and digital twin development. This research will be performed, where appropriate, in collaboration with universities.
• analyse various vehicle architectures and configurations with special emphasis on the two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) vehicle based on LOx-methane cryogenic liquid propulsion, engine clustering, low structural ratio and low-cost system-integrated avionics.
• develop mathematical models regarding the fluid-thermal-structure interaction to be used during the vehicle digital system design and to be injected in the vehicle digital twin, aiming to optimise the design of the external thermal protection during the ascent and descent phases.
• supporting the implementation of the requirements verification process within the MBSE environment.

As a Research Fellow, you will:

• publish results in peer-reviewed publications and use modern communication tools to connect with the broader audience both within and beyond ESA.
• lead and assist in interdisciplinary projects with other researchers.
• participate, together with the Team, in the assessment of novel space system concepts, and propose new concepts and assessment studies.
• perform and participate in assessments of topics of strategic interest to ESA, providing in-house expertise on strategy development.
• benefit, in your research, from the technology and engineering expertise available at ESA.

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 (within the past five years), or be close to completing a PhD in engineering or physics, preferably with a focus on the development of fluid-thermal-structure interaction mathematical models. A thesis topic relevant to the aforementioned fields of activities would be considered an advantage.

Additional requirements

• Experience in scientific physical-mathematical modelling
• Proficiency in a programming language
• Experience in space vehicle mission design and systems engineering would be considered a strong asset
• You should be aiming for a career in academia or research
• Aptitude for and interest in prospective interdisciplinary research
• Ability to contextualise specialised areas of research and quickly assess their potential with respect to other domains and applications
• Academic networking skills to create active links with universities and research institutes
• Ability to work in a team as well as independently in accordance with your own research plans and directions
• Natural curiosity and a passion for new subjects and research areas

 Your role will be similar to a regular academic postdoctoral placement, but with a number of notable differences:

• As there is no professor or similar role within the Team, you should be more independent academically than most postdoctoral researchers. This implies greater freedom, but also greater responsibility for research directions and approaches.
• You will join a diverse, evolving and interdisciplinary research team embedded in a large space agency, in contrast to a more specialised, focused research group with similar competences.
• You will be required to actively reach out to other disciplines to bring their competences to bear in interdisciplinary research projects and to encourage other researchers to join them in their core, cross-disciplinary research projects.
• You will need to communicate your expertise and research results, including the potential implications and importance for ESA’s long-term strategy, both internally and externally.