Intern in the Science Operations Department - Solar Orbiter App Development

European Space Agency; Villanueva de la Cañada; On-site; EUR 12,000 - 17,000; Part time

Job summary

ESA ESAC invites students to contribute to developing the Solar Orbiter App within the ESA Datalabs platform. You will work with archives and Datalabs experts to design architecture, integrate code, and test the application using Jupiter notebooks and archived mission data.

The internship focuses on making Solar Orbiter datasets more accessible, with goal of a public release and practical demonstrations for space physics use cases.

Qualifications

• Must be a university student in Master’s level and enrolled for the full duration of the internship.
• Strong background in physics or space science and programming.
• Proficiency in Python and software development practices.

Responsibilities

• Develop the Solar Orbiter App within ESA Datalabs (EDL) environment.
• Collaborate with ESA archives and Datalabs teams on architecture, integration, and testing.
• Contribute to a public release of the app with documented use cases.

Skills

Physics background

Computer science

Software engineering

Python programming

Astrophysics knowledge

Cloud platforms

Docker

Distributed computing

Scientific data analysis with Python

Education

University student in Master's level

Tools

Docker

Python

Cloud platforms

Job description

Location
ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain

Our team and mission

Under the direct authority of D/SCI, the Head of the Science Operations Department is responsible for the development of the science operations infrastructure under the Directorate responsibility, the operation of the Directorate’s missions once successfully commissioned, and the curation of all scientific data in the missions’ legacy phase. These responsibilities are discharged in full coordination with the Directorate’s Departments and Offices and as appropriate, with the Directorate of Operations (D/OPS).

In implementing their duties, SCI-S is supported by the:

• Mission Management and Science Operations Division (SCI-SO);
• Science Operations Development Division (SCI-SD);
• Data Science and Archives Division (SCI-SA).

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Developing the Solar Orbiter App in ESA Datalabs

Solar Orbiter is an ESA-led flagship mission in heliophysics to observe the Sun and the heliosphere. The respective Solar Orbiter ARchive (SOAR) at ESAC contains more than 5 million unique science files measured by ten instruments aboard the spacecraft. These data include high-resolution remote-sensing observations - such as the closest images of the Sun ever taken and the world-first observations of the solar poles. In addition, the data contain state-of-the-art in-situ measurements of solar particles and the electromagnetic field at the spacecraft site, which allow phenomena on the Sun to be linked with their impact on the inner solar system.

The goal of this project is to make key-science datasets from Solar Orbiter more accessible to the scientific community by developing a new application within the ESA Datalabs (EDL) environment. EDL serves as a primary computational platform for accessing and analysing ESA's astronomical datasets and is currently being expanded towards planetary and heliophysics datasets. One central aspect of EDL is that users can run their own code directly on the archived mission data volume instead of downloading all these data. Taking advantage of this infrastructure, we aim to integrate a comprehensive “starter package” for scientific data analysis within one single “Solar Orbiter App” in EDL.

The scientific analysis code with examples for each Solar Orbiter instrument is currently available as individual Jupiter notebooks that demonstrate important steps for the analysis of key-datasets. You will work together with experts from ESA archives and Datalabs on the full implementation cycle of the application up to its public release, including the design of its architecture, the integration of code and access to the archive data, and finally the systematic testing of the application with implementation of necessary improvements. In the end, the Solar Orbiter App shall allow new users a kickstart for their science projects and for experienced users it shall demonstrate the added value of EDL by containing code applications based on clear scientific use cases to run on the mission data for one or several instruments datasets.

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.

You should also have:

• strong background in physics, computer science, or software engineering;
• proficiency in Python (at least 1 year's experience in scientific or software development projects);
• solid knowledge of astrophysics, space physics, or plasma physics (completed at least one university course on one of these topics).

Highly valued:

• experience with cloud platforms, containerisation (Docker), and distributed computing;
• experience in scientific data analysis with Python (ideally space physics remote-sensing or in-situ data).

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 [e-mail].

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, 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. Applicants from Canada as a Cooperating State can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).