Intern in the Science Operations Department - Solar Orbiter App Development - European Space Agency (Villanueva De La Cañada)

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:

• Develop the Solar Orbiter App in ESA Datalabs environment
• Design the application architecture
• Integrate code and access to archive data
• Systematically test the application and implement improvements
• Work on the full implementation cycle up to public release

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, with proof of enrollment for entire internship duration
• Experience: At least 1 year's experience in scientific or software development projects using Python
• Languages: English, French
• Key skills: Strong background in physics, computer science, or software engineering, Proficiency in Python, Solid knowledge of astrophysics, space physics, or plasma physics, Experience with cloud platforms (highly valued), Experience with containerisation (Docker) (highly valued), Experience with distributed computing (highly valued), Experience in scientific data analysis with Python (highly valued)

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: Internship.

Working arrangements: On-site at ESAC, Villanueva de la Cañada, Spain.

Hiring unit: Science Operations Department, Solar Orbiter.

Position details

Reference

1452874833

Last Verified

5 November 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Intern in the Science Operations Department - Solar Orbiter App Development at ESA based in Villanueva De La Cañada (Traineeship). The vacancy reference is 1452874833.

Job Requisition ID:20957

Date Posted:1 November 2026

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

Publication Method:External Only

Workplace: Villanueva de la Cañada, ES

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

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).

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 3 November 2026, 4 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 Villanueva De La Cañada see our Villanueva De La Cañada 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.