ESA Graduate Trainee in Dynamics of Extreme Space Systems Engineering

Our team and mission

The Technology Department is responsible for the technology strategy, the research and technology development
programmes, the education programme and the directorates communication activities.

In particular, this includes, together with all relevant directorates:

• developing and implementing ESA’s technology strategy;
• organising studies, research and developments to provide an integrated, continuous technology development path
  from TRL1 to TRL9 according to strategic and programmatic needs, available competences and resources;
• coordinating and harmonising technology developments with ESA’s application and programme specific technology
  development programmes, European and national technology development programmes;
• developing and implementing a resource and competence plan for conducting R&D activities, together with the
  Management Support Office and the other departments;
• preparing future missions and their technologies through early phase studies, system analyses, feasibility
  assessments, and establishing mission baselines for DG, Directorate, and Member State decisions;
• developing together with the TEC business partners, Senior Technical Authorities and System engineers effective
  R&D processes addressing user and programme needs;
• liaising with D/CIC on commercialisation and competitiveness aspects of R&D activities, and ensure the alignment
  of ESA's technology strategy with the strategies in these domains;
• liaising with D/OPS on ground system R&D activities;
• integrating relevant Education activities into the R&D management processes;
• communicating the value of ESA’s technical competence, infrastructure and facilities;
• coordinating in close cooperation with corporate communication at ESA, TEC communication activities;
• managing TEC internal communication activities.

This EGT will take place within ESA's Advanced Concepts Team (ACT).
ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team (ACT) monitors, performs, and promotes cutting-edge multidisciplinary research for space. It
explores innovative approaches to space-related R&D, including competitions, prizes, and games, as well as research aimed
at fostering disruptive innovation. The team develops an expert network within academia and provides rapid first-look
analyses of challenges, opportunities, and problems.

The ACT collaborates with universities and research centers, focusing on advanced topics of strategic relevance to the space
sector while experimenting with novel teamwork methods. To achieve its objectives, the ACT fosters a dynamic,
multidisciplinary research environment where early-career researchers—spanning postdoctoral and postgraduate levels in
science and engineering—contribute to the development of emerging technologies and innovative concepts.

You are encouraged to visit the ACT website: www.esa.int/act as well as the ESA website: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

Your primary work will focus on the dynamics and control of extreme space systems. This encompasses a wide range of
applications, from nano-satellites operating in swarms to the on-orbit self-assembly of mega-structures. Such advanced
systems need new and creative mission planning approaches, as well as autonomous control systems that can
accommodate the complex dynamics found beyond low earth orbit (LEO).

While you are encouraged to propose your own original projects within this domain, the following areas have been
identified as potential techniques for innovative research:

• uncertainty propagation and non-Gaussian collision probability estimation;
• identifying families of periodic orbits;
• stability and robustness analysis of resulting trajectories;
• use of Event Transition Tensors to study complex event manifolds.

Such techniques can be applied to a variety of interesting environments with complex dynamics, such as:

• cis-lunar orbits, where the third-body perturbations and the non-spherical gravity field necessitate new algorithms
  beyond those developed for two-body dynamics;
• proximity operations around Asteroids, where low gravity makes escape and collision a real danger to mission
  success;
• black holes, and neutron stars whose strong gravitational fields require a relativistic treatment of the dynamics;
  solar sailing in binary star systems.

As a member of the Advanced Concepts Team (ACT), you will contribute to the development and evaluation of new space
technologies and concepts. You will collaborate with experts from diverse fields, including artificial intelligence, computer
science, fundamental physics, and mission analysis. Depending on your background and interests, your work may include
various initiatives, such as competitions organized via the ESA’s ACT optimize platform (https://optimize.esa.int) and/or
studies conducted under ESA’s Ariadna scheme, and you will help disseminate research findings within ESA and to external
audiences.

Finally, you will monitor—and if feasible, contribute to—ESA's Discovery and Preparation campaigns by refining early study
definitions and possibly participating in select activities.

.

The following recent publications are an example of possible outcomes of research in this field:
[1] Verhelst, T., Acciarini, G., Izzo, D., & Biscani, F. (2025). Probability of collision in nonlinear dynamics by moment
propagation. In 9th European Conference on Space Debris.
[2] Acciarini, G., Baresi, N., Lloyd, D. J., & Izzo, D. (2025). Nonlinear propagation of non-gaussian uncertainties.
Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 48 (4), 903-913.
[3] Levin, J., & Perez-Giz, G. (2008). A periodic table for black hole orbits. Physical Review D—Particles, Fields,
Gravitation, and Cosmology, 77(10), 103005.
[4] Izzo, Dario, et al. "High-order expansion of Neural Ordinary Differential Equations flows." arXiv preprint
arXiv:2504.08769 (2025). (Accepted: Science Advances)

Technical competencies

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 recently completed or be in the final year of your master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mathematics.

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. 

You should also have:

• understanding of dynamical systems / chaotic dynamics.
• previous experience with extreme dynamical regimes.