Intern in the Electrical Department, Power Systems Architecture

Our team and mission

The Power Systems, EMC and Space Environments Division is responsible for all aspects of power systems required for ESA spacecraft and payloads. More specifically TEC- EP responsibilities encompass:

• Power sources such as solar generators and nuclear devices;
• Electrical energy storage devices such as batteries, super capacitors and fuel cells;
• Electrical Power management and conditioning systems;
• Nuclear power system engineering;
• Power distribution and protection techniques & technologies;
• Electrical harness design and engineering;
• EMC modelling, engineering and related testing;
• Analysis and modelling of space environments and their effects on space systems;
• Design of space environments and effects monitoring hardware;
• Supporting standardisation activities for all the above listed technologies.

The Power Systems, EMC and Space Environments Division activities also encompass system trade-offs and detailed assessment of the related technologies, as well as bread-boarding and testing in the associated laboratories and facilities: the Electromagnetic Laboratory and its facilities, the ESA Space Power Laboratory and its facilities in Solar Generation, Power, and Energy Storage (Battery and Fuel Cells).

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

You can choose between the following topics:

1)Topic 1 Digital control of DC/DC converters

This topic will be hosted in the Power Management and Distribution section in the TEC-EP Division. An FPGA will be used to design a control system for a DC/DC converter. The idea is to implement innovative control and monitoring systems, like peak and valley current mode, stability monitoring, failure prediction, etc. The topic involves practical work in the laboratory building a DC/DC converter and programming the control system in an FPGA.

2)Topic 2 Design process of DC/DC converters with python

This topic will be hosted in the Power Management and Distribution section in the TEC-EP Division. The design process of a DC/DC converter includes the selection of the topology, selection of semiconductors and losses calculation, design of the magnetic components and the control system. It is a long process involving multiple topics. Python will be used to implement this design process in order to obtain a detailed converter model. For some of the steps of the process, FEMM, a finite element analysis tool will be called from Python to complement the analysis.

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.

For these topics you should also have: 

Topic 1: Knowledge and background in DC/DC power conversion, power converter control and FPGA programming. Python programming is an asset.
Topic 2: Knowledge and background in DC/DC power conversion, power conversion control and python programing.