Intern in the Systems Department - FDIR System Engineering - 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:

• Analyse spacecraft anomaly reports, operational events and mission databases from multiple missions
• Identify failures, false positives, nuisance alarms and operational workarounds associated with Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery functions
• Assess the effectiveness of monitoring strategies, recovery actions and autonomous fault management concepts
• Identify recurring weaknesses, missing observability, excessive complexity or design shortcomings in monitoring and recovery architectures
• Collect evidence-based lessons learned and map them to engineering recommendations for future missions
• Support the development and maintenance of a structured database of spacecraft monitors, recovery actions and operational experience
• Contribute to the evolution of engineering tools supporting Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery design and analysis
• Support the consolidation of traceability between anomaly reports, failure modes, monitoring mechanisms and recovery concepts

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
• Languages: English, French
• Key skills: Analytical and structured thinking skills, Ability to analyse technical documentation and derive engineering conclusions, Ability to communicate technical findings clearly in written reports and presentations, Data analysis and large dataset processing, Python, databases or data analytics tools, Knowledge management and continuous improvement processes

Contract and working arrangements

Working arrangements: ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands.

Hiring unit: Technology, Engineering and Quality Directorate.

Position details

Reference

1452887833

Last Verified

6 November 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Intern in the Systems Department - FDIR System Engineering at ESA based in Noordwijk (Traineeship). The vacancy reference is 1452887833.

Job Requisition ID:21060

Date Posted:1 November 2026

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

Publication Method:External Only

Directorate:Technology, Engineering and Quality

Location ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Our team and mission

Our team is responsible for Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery. We support the development of space missions throughout their lifecycle, from early concept studies to operations, with a particular focus on fault management, system autonomy, mission robustness and operational safety.

The team contributes to the continuous improvement of engineering practices across ESA missions by capturing lessons learned from past and ongoing programmes and by supporting the evolution of engineering handbooks, methods and tools. In particular, we contribute to the development of Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery methodologies and associated engineering toolchains used to improve mission availability, fault tolerance and operational efficiency.

You will work in a multidisciplinary environment involving systems engineering, reliability, software, operations and mission analysis. You will have the opportunity to analyse real mission operational data and spacecraft anomaly reports, identify recurring patterns and engineering lessons, and contribute to the development of future Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery concepts and monitoring approaches for ESA missions.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

During your internship, you will contribute to the analysis of spacecraft operational history from multiple ESA missions with the objective of extracting actionable lessons learned for future mission designs.

Your activities may include:

- analysing spacecraft anomaly reports, operational events and mission databases from multiple missions; - identifying failures, false positives, nuisance alarms and operational workarounds associated with Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery functions; - assessing the effectiveness of monitoring strategies, recovery actions and autonomous fault management concepts; - identifying recurring weaknesses, missing observability, excessive complexity or design shortcomings in monitoring and recovery architectures; - collecting evidence-based lessons learned and mapping them to engineering recommendations for future missions; - supporting the development and maintenance of a structured database of spacecraft monitors, recovery actions and operational experience; - contributing to the evolution of engineering tools supporting Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery design and analysis; - supporting the consolidation of traceability between anomaly reports, failure modes, monitoring mechanisms and recovery concepts; - contributing to updates of the ESA SAVOIR FDIR Handbook and associated lessons learned repositories; - supporting comparative analyses across missions to identify common fault management patterns and best practices; - participating in technical discussions with system, reliability and operations engineers.

Through this work you will gain practical experience in spacecraft systems engineering, mission operations, fault management, engineering data analysis and knowledge management for complex space systems.

The internship offers a unique opportunity to work with real operational experience from spacecraft missions and contribute directly to improving the robustness and autonomy of future ESA missions.

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 and background in one or more of the following areas is an asset:

- spacecraft systems engineering; - Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery concepts; - mission operations or spacecraft operations; - data analysis and large dataset processing; - aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering or a related discipline; - experience with Python, databases or data analytics tools; - ability to analyse technical documentation and derive engineering conclusions; - interest in lessons learned, knowledge management and continuous improvement processes; - strong analytical and structured thinking skills; - ability to communicate technical findings clearly in written reports and presentations.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 6 November 2026, 1 day 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 6 November 2026.

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.