ESA Graduate Trainee in Propulsion Engineering

Our team and mission

The Propulsion Engineering Section (TEC-MPC) has the following tasks:

• Provide technical support and consultancy in launcher propulsion (liquid, including storable and cryogenic technologies, and solid propulsion) and spacecraft propulsion (various chemical propulsion technologies) to the Agency project teams responsible for the development of launchers and spacecraft, throughout all project phases;
• Contribute to the preparation of work plans in the areas of launcher and spacecraft propulsion in the Agency’s technological programmes, with a particular contribution expected on systems and new propulsion aspects;
• Prepare and manage, from a technical perspective, ESA contracts for studies, experimental investigations, and engineering development activities in space propulsion.

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

You will support pre phase A studies, such as those performed in ESA’s CDF (Concurrent Design Facility) and will use these studies to improve the section internal analysis tools. Here you will have to perform the following typical tasks:

• performing trade-offs between different propulsion systems for given applications;
• analysis of tank pressure evolution;
• component selection and propulsion subsystem sizing in terms of mass and power budgets;
• assessment of trajectories and resulting Δv (Delta-v) needs.

You will support laboratory activities related to the current fields of research in the European Propulsion Laboratory (EPL) and/or the Chemical Propulsion Laboratory (CPL). Experimental subjects (depending on project requests at the time of placement) can be for example:

• transient system aspects, like priming peak assessments;
• water electrolysis propulsion;
• cube sat chemical propulsion.

For this, you will support the testing of those aspects within the laboratory and improve the capabilities to model and validate tests with numerical tools like EcosimPro/ESPSS.

Finally, you will provide support to section internal studies into innovative propulsion concepts and propulsion system applications, such as rotating detonation engines (RDE) and thermal propulsion.

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 just completed, or be in the final year of your master’ s degree in (aerospace) engineering, physics or chemistry.

Additional requirements

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. 

You should also have:

• General knowledge about space propulsion systems, as well as some programming experience in VBA, python, or any other higher programming language
• Experience in a lab environment for testing of fluidic systems is an asset.