Research Fellow: AI Safety for Crewed Spaceflight Systems

EU Satellite Centre (SatCen); Noordwijk; On-site; EUR 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

EU Satellite Centre (SatCen) in Noordwijk, Netherlands, invites a Research Fellow to lead the development of advanced assurance methodologies for AI and autonomous functions in human spaceflight systems. You will bridge deterministic safety assurance with data-driven approaches, and contribute to ESA frameworks, standards, and practices for crewed missions.

The role spans literature reviews, hazard analysis, V&V strategies, and case studies on onboard fault detection and crew decision support,

Qualifications

• PhD completed within the past five years (or close to completion) in aerospace, CS, AI, systems or software engineering, with focus on AI/autonomy.
• solid knowledge of AI/ML techniques, including limitations, validation challenges and safety-critical applicability.
• experience in development, verification or validation of software-intensive/autonomous systems in safety-critical domains.
• experience with data analysis and modelling tools (Python or MATLAB) for AI model datasets (training/testing/validation).
• understanding of verification/validation techniques for AI-enabled systems.
• familiarity with human-machine interaction concepts and supervisory/decision-making loops.
• interest in human spaceflight and safety-critical applications, and motivation to advance ESA PA&S practices.
• ability to work autonomously in multidisciplinary teams (software, systems, safety, mission ops).

Responsibilities

• conduct literature surveys and state-of-the-art assessments of AI/autonomy assurance across domains and map to ESA practices.
• define a classification framework for AI-enabled functions in human spaceflight with assurance levels and acceptance criteria.
• develop hazard analysis methods for AI-based systems addressing non-deterministic behavior and data-driven failures.
• propose architectural patterns for safe AI integration in crewed systems and runtime assurance mechanisms.
• devise V&V strategies for AI-enabled functions including scenario-based testing and dataset qualification.
• develop safety assurance case methodologies for AI/autonomous systems within ESA programs.
• analyze use cases like onboard fault detection, autonomous rendezvous support, and crew decision support.
• investigate AI-enabled autonomy impact on human reliability and operational concepts.
• contribute to lifecycle processes for AI-enabled systems (config control, updates, monitoring).
• provide recommendations for ESA PA&S practices and future standardisation.

Education

PhD in aerospace engineering, computer science, AI, systems engineering or software engineering

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Job description

EU Satellite Centre (SatCen) in Noordwijk, Netherlands, invites a Research Fellow to lead the development of advanced assurance methodologies for AI and autonomous functions in human spaceflight systems. You will bridge deterministic safety assurance with data-driven approaches, and contribute to ESA frameworks, standards, and practices for crewed missions.

The role spans literature reviews, hazard analysis, V&V strategies, and case studies on onboard fault detection and crew decision support,