Intern in the Galileo and EGNOS Programme Department - Resilient Navigation Systems

EU Satellite Centre (SatCen); Noordwijk; On-site; EUR 12,000 - 18,000; Full time

Job summary

ESA is offering an internship in the System Security unit of the Galileo programme at ESTEC in Noordwijk, Netherlands. You will work on making GNSS more resilient by leveraging space-based assets and inter-satellite links, exploring ground-to-space handoff, data exchange, and distributed processing concepts.

The role requires you to be a Master’s student, enrolled for the full duration, with proficiency in English and French.

Qualifications

• University student, preferably in final or second-to-last year of Master’s level.
• Must be enrolled at university for the entire duration of the internship.
• Working languages are English and French; knowledge of another ESA language is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Investigate how future GNSS systems could become more resilient by using space-based assets and inter-satellite links.
• Assess which ground-segment functions could move into space or be supported by space-based data.
• Explore distributed processing, orbit regimes, and a common time/reference frame across the system.
• Identify missing capabilities to achieve autonomous and resilient space-based PNT.
• Develop a roadmap toward a more autonomous and resilient space-based PNT system.

Skills

English proficiency

French knowledge

Education

Master's student in a relevant field

Job description

Location
ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Our team and mission

You will be joining the system security unit of the Galileo programme, which forms part of the Directorate of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity. Our team is responsible for managing security activities throughout the programme, addressing both civil and governmental services to maintain robust end-to-end security standards.
We facilitate the definition of mission requirements and their subsequent evolution, integrating these into the system design while considering both performance and security. Furthermore, our unit assists in prototyping user segment receivers and system validation tools, enabling us to verify system capabilities and performance levels in advance and ensure compliance with mission, system and security specifications.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Your internship will look at how future positioning, navigation and timing systems could become more resilient by making better use of the space segment and reducing their dependence on ground infrastructure.

Today, the generation and maintenance of high-accuracy navigation information rely heavily on ground infrastructure. Precise satellite orbits and clocks are determined and monitored from the ground, while information such as Earth orientation parameters is also generated through ground-based processing and observations. This creates a strong dependency between the space and ground segments and can represent a vulnerability to the resilience of the overall service. A disruption or loss of access to critical ground infrastructure could affect the ability to maintain accurate positioning, navigation and timing services.

At the same time, a number of new space-based capabilities are becoming available. Galileo provides a global navigation infrastructure, while new concepts involving low Earth orbit satellites, distributed navigation payloads and missions such as Genesis could provide additional measurements, precise timing and orbit determination capabilities. The question is whether these different capabilities could be brought together as a system of systems, with the space segment itself providing a much larger part of the information currently generated on the ground.

As an intern, you will have the following tasks:

• investigating what such an architecture could look like and, more importantly, what would be needed to make it work and improve the resilience of the overall system;
• looking firstly at the functions currently performed by the ground segment and assessing which of them could potentially be moved into space or supported by information exchanged between space-based assets, including orbit and clock determination, time and frequency synchronisation, Earth orientation information, navigation data generation and integrity monitoring;
• investigating then how different space assets could work together, including the measurements available from different types of satellites, the information that would need to be exchanged, possible inter-satellite links, distributed processing, the use of different orbital regimes, and how a common time and reference frame could be maintained across the system;
• identifying, as a key part of the internship, what is still missing to make the system sufficiently autonomous and resilient, including assessing gaps that may require new technologies, additional measurements or a different system architecture, and evaluating their impact on the ability of the system to continue providing positioning, navigation and timing services when parts of the ground infrastructure are unavailable or degraded;
• developing, as final objective, a possible roadmap towards a more autonomous and resilient space-based positioning, navigation and timing system, proposing how existing and future capabilities could complement each other, identifying the main technical and architectural challenges, and determining which developments would be needed to move from today's predominantly ground-supported architecture towards a system in which the space segment can increasingly determine, maintain and distribute its own navigation and timing information, even in the presence of disruptions to the ground segment.

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.

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.

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.