Estonian National Graduate Trainee in Advanced Materials and Process Engineering

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

The Advanced Manufacturing Cross-Cutting Initiative captures the opportunity of adopting revolutionary manufacturing capabilities, advanced materials and associated processes and creates sustainable competitive advantage for European space industry in the global market. In its latest revision of activities, emphasis is given to smart manufacturing, i.e. the use of interconnected digital technologies in industrial production, that enable new and more efficient processes and which in some cases yield new goods and services.

The current space missions are often limited in their performances and scientific achievements by the traditional manufacturing processes/concepts. Though Advanced Manufacturing technologies are readily available in the current European industrial landscape, these can be adopted for next generation space hardware manufacturing. This will enable new and highly innovative spacecraft and launchers designs, with significantly reduced manufacturing constraints (including costs and lead-time) and tremendous performance improvement.

Complementing this initiative, the following activities are currently targeted through the advanced manufacturing laboratory:

• identifying, investigating and performing pre-assessment of emerging materials and processes, investigating and use of advanced non-destructive inspection (NDI) techniques in support of, or even replacing, experimental destructive laboratory verification activities;
• optimising the performance of metal based additively manufactured parts by investigating the relation between raw material quality and part performance;
• performing testing to determine fundamental properties of powders;
• providing assistance in the design and production of test coupons;
• performing material related tests on 3D-printed test structures (e.g. tensile testing, fatigue testing, defect analysis) and correlating the properties of as-built parts with previously measured powder characteristics;
• investigating the part performance produced by multi-laser additive manufacturing;
• assisting model development for virtual testing and digital twinning, linking process, structure, and performance in generating input parameters for integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) models.

You will use facilities available through the ECSAT Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory in close cooperation with ESTEC Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory, in order to characterise all the above advanced materials and manufacturing processes, with particular focus on additive manufacturing.

The final goal is to provide an in-depth understanding of the performances of the identified technologies and provide recommendations for further improvement in view of their space application in highly demanding environments.

Technical competencies

• Knowledge of relevant technical/functional domains
• Relevant experience gained during internships, project work and/or extracurricular or other activities
• General knowledge of the space sector and relevant activities
• Knowledge of ESA and its programmes/projects

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 should have just completed, or be in the final year of your master’s degree in material science covering metallic, polymeric and/or composite materials.

Additional requirements

• You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team.
• Previous experience of working in international teams can be considered an asset.
• Your motivation, overall professional perspective and career goals will also be explored during the later stages of the selection process.

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 contact.human.resources@esa.int.

Important Information and Disclaimer

• Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.
• During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.
• Additionally, successful candidates will need to undergo basic screening before appointment, which will be conducted by an external background screening service, in compliance with the European Space Agency's security procedures.
• The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding working 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 and Languages

Please note that applications can only be considered from nationals of Estonia or permanent residents of Estonia with the nationality of an ESA Member State, Associate Member or Cooperating State.

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.