Young Graduate Opportunity in the Directorate of Internal Services

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, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.

This post is classified F1 on the Coordinated Organisations’ salary scale.

Location

ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands 

Our team and mission

You will support the Strategy and Planning Office, within the Information Technology Department. The team plays a role in assessing and demonstrating the transformative potential to the Agency of the broad and emerging landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies; the team creates business value and outcomes, with a particular emphasis on privacy and data confidentiality, trust and sustainable AI. 

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

We are looking for an intellectually curious and enthusiastic mind, passionate for AI technologies.

As a Young Graduate Trainee, you will support the implementation of business-use cases by exploiting the IT Department AI technology solution platforms and tools, with a particular focus in identifying the appropriate privacy and data confidentiality safeguards. Some of these platforms and tools are:

• Microsoft Copilot
• IBM Watson
• Generative AI open-source solutions
• Azure AI

We are looking for a candidate who will be able to contribute to the team in the following areas:

• Natural language processing (NLP)
• Large language models and generative AI
• Machine leaning
• Data analytics
• General data protection and privacy regulation

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

Education

You should have just completed or be in the final year of your master’s in computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, statistics or engineering.

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.

The following would be considered an asset for this role:

• Proven experience working in a knowledge engineering role with a focus on Large Language Model and Generative AI, in addition to any familiarity with major natural language processing (NLP) frameworks and libraries.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, as well as experience with deep learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch) is highly desirable.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse data, identify patterns, and make data-driven decisions.
• The ability to convey complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

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.

During the interview motivation and overall professional perspective/career goals will also be explored.

Other information

For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.

For further information on the Young Graduate Programme please visit: Young Graduate Programme and FAQ Young Graduate Programme

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 email contact.human.resources@esa.int.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as  Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus as European Cooperating States (ECS).

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to candidates from under-represented Member States*. 

In accordance with the European Space Agency’s security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service. 

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.