Intern in the Galileo and Egnos Programme Department - AI for Galileo System Engineering and MBSE

Location

ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Our team and mission

The internship opportunity is within the Galileo System Engineering Unit, Galileo System Engineering Service, Galileo Project Office, in the Galileo and EGNOS Programme Department. ESA is the design authority of Galileo in support of the EU and the System Development Prime.

Galileo is Europe’s own global navigation satellite system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. Galileo is already the most precise satellite navigation system in the world, with more than four billion users.

Our team oversees the definition and specification of the Galileo System releases, known as System Builds, responding to increasing mission needs in terms of position accuracy, availability, integrity, assurance, robustness and emergency response. This encompasses the definition of the new Galileo Second Generation satellites (with the first batch under development), the updates of the current Galileo (1st Generation) fleet, the necessary updates of the Ground Segment, and the interface with service facilities and external entities.

We are a multidisciplinary, enthusiastic and diverse team and work hand-in-hand with other Galileo and ESA discliplines, from radionavigation and security engineers to ground and space segment engineers.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Galileo is a large and complex system with hundreds of functions, thousands of requirements, and an infrastructure distributed across the whole world. Galileo has new system releases and updates coming on a yearly basis. Implementation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools at System Level is a priority for the Galileo Programme in order to ensure knowledge transfer, modelling of current and future evolutions of the Galileo System and fast data access for decision-making processes (design, qualification and anomaly resolution).

As a means to manage this complexity, the Galileo System Engineering team has put in place a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach linking those functions to one another in a graphical manner. The MBSE system model is available to the full Project team: from engineers and testers to security accreditors and managers. This system model opens up new opportunities to link all the design elements and artefacts with their verification and validation across the whole lifecycle. Linking all design aspects will improve the system design and behavioural understanding by our Project team, and will maximise the success of its deployment.

Elements to be linked with the system model range from requirements, analyses and simulations, to performance prediction and early validation and finally, to real measurements.

It is a massive amount of data to connect and we believe that artificial intelligence/machine learning can help in this endeavour. This is part of a growing trend in Systems Engineering known as AI-for-Systems Engineering, or AI4SE.

As an intern, you will have the following tasks

• exploring the AI4SE (AI-for-Systems Engineering) approach in the context of the Galileo MBSE system model;
• defining and implementing practical use cases in which artificial intelligence and machine learning enable the MBSE system model to be queried, expanded and connected to other databases (requirements, simulations, test results, configuration, field measurements) in a better, and more efficient way;
• developing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools, methodologies, scripts and digital threads to support these capabilities.

In these tasks, you will engage with state-of-the-art Galileo professionals from ESA and industry. This would allow our Project team to digitally navigate through the system design seamlessly and minimise the risks associated with developing and deploying new Galileo system releases.

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 in your final or second-to-last year of university course 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 and background in Satellite Radionavigation, data science and artificial intelligence are assets.

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 ESA.Student.Internships@esa.int .

Important Information and Disclaimer

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

Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.

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, Cyprus, 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.