Intern in the Industrial Policy and Auditing Department - SME Section - European Space Agency (Noordwijk)

About this position

The summary below is published by European Space Agency on the official vacancy notice. Our own analysis — salary realism, comparable openings, career trajectory, language profile — follows further down the page.

Key responsibilities

According to the vacancy notice, the role centres on the following duties:

• Contribute to characterisation of the European space SME community
• Perform statistical analyses of economic and financial characteristics of European space SMEs
• Analyze SME involvement in ESA activities
• Access and work with programmatic, financial, and economic data sources
• Perform in-depth studies and statistical analysis
• Code algorithms and perform machine learning and AI-based data exploitation
• Extend and consolidate existing collection of data and models

Are you eligible?

Check these requirements from the notice before investing time in an application:

• Education: University student, preferably in final or second-to-last year of Master's level course; must be able to prove enrollment for entire duration of internship
• Languages: English (good kn…), French (good kn…)
• Key skills: Knowledge of economics, statistics, econometrics, Proficiency with MS Excel, Data analysis, Python (asset), Power BI (asset), Machine learning tools (asset)

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: Internship.

Working arrangements: On-site, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands.

Hiring unit: Industrial Policy and Auditing Department, SME Section.

Position details

Reference

1452888233

Last Verified

5 November 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Intern in the Industrial Policy and Auditing Department - SME Section at ESA based in Noordwijk (Traineeship). The vacancy reference is 1452888233.

Job Requisition ID:21097

Date Posted:1 November 2026

Closing Date:30 November 2026 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication Method:External Only

Directorate:Controlling, Finance and Operational Procurement

Location ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Our team and mission

The Industrial Policy and Auditing Department is responsible for elaborating and implementing the Agency's industrial policy, for defining and implementing the geographical return and industrial audit policies, for fostering the relations between industry and the Agency and for supporting the successful accession of new Member and Cooperating States.

SMEs¹ (Small and Medium Enterprises) and start-ups play an ever-increasing role in the activities of ESA and the industrial landscape of its Member States. Today they represent more than 30% of the companies contracted by the Agency and are important contributors of innovation for ESA Programmes. The SME Section of the Department implements the ESA SME Industrial Policy with the objective to facilitate both the introduction and the sustainable involvement of SMEs in the activities of the Agency and to support their introduction into the industrial space supply chain. To this end the SME Office performs a variety of activities also including analyses concerning the involvement of SMEs in the Agency's activities and their economic and financial characteristics as well as the evolution of the SME landscape.

1) SMEs are defined as companies having a staff headcount <250, annual turnover ≤ 50M€ or a balance sheet total ≤ 43M€, see Recommendation of the European Commission 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

​​In the context of elaborating and implementing the Agency's industrial policy it is important for ESA to maintain an in-depth understanding of the space industry and its characteristics. The focus of the here concerned activity is to contribute to the characterisation of the European space SME community. This concerns in particular statistical analyses of the economic and financial characteristics of European space SMEs and their involvement in the activities of ESA.

​

​To this end you will access a variety of available data sources of the Agency comprising programmatic, financial, and economic data (current and historic) concerning the European space industry working with ESA (note that access to the data and publication will be subject to a non-disclosure agreement). Your analyses will contribute to the extension and consolidation of the existing collection of data and models of relevant economic and financial characteristics of the space SME and Start-Up community. Your analyses will consist of performing in depth studies and statistical analysis that will consist of coding of related algorithms, machine learning and AI-based data exploitation as required. For the analyses you will be using a range of data sources of industrial policy relevance.

​The precise scope and content of the specific analyses to be performed during the period of the internship can be agreed with you in line with your research interests.

​You will be supported in your activities by the members of the SME Section and other services of the Department.​

Behavioural competencies

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 of economics, statistics, econometrics.

The activity requires the handling of large datasets. Proficiency with MS Excel is required and experience with data analysis software such as Python, Power BI, m achine learning tools would be an asset.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 5 November 2026, 2 days ago.

The application deadline is 30 November 2026, 21 days from today. Late applications are not accepted, so submit through the official EU Careers portal well in advance.

Last verified against the EU Careers feed on 5 November 2026 (2 days ago).

Where to learn more

For headcount, mission, and other open vacancies at ESA see the ESA institution page; for the cost of living, correction coefficient, and other postings in Noordwijk see our Noordwijk location page.

New to EU careers? Our beginner's guide walks through entry routes, EPSO competitions, and what to prepare. For application logistics see application tips and EPSO competitions.