Training Opportunity for “Young Graduate Trainees”

Reference Specialist Area Duty Station Closing Date

ESA/YG-ESTEC(2009)019 Software Engineering ESTEC 13 December 2009

Overview of the Division’s mission

The objectives of the Gaia mission rely on the proven principle of the ESA Hipparcos mission to help solving
one of the most difficult and yet deeply fundamental challenges in modern astronomy: to create an
extraordinarily precise three-dimensional map of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy and beyond.
In the process, it will map the motion of the stars, which encodes the origin and subsequent evolution of the
Galaxy.

The scientific measurements of the Gaia mission will cover three principal areas:

- astrometry (the measurement of stellar position, parallax and proper motion)

- photometry (the measurement of photometric magnitues in different spectral bands and epoch)
- spectroscopy (the measurement of radial velocities and astrophysical parameters)

The Gaia Project team is in charge of the implementation of the mission.

Overview of the field of activity proposed

The opportunity offered to the Young Graduate Trainee within the Gaia Project team will involve:

- Understanding of the requirements relevant to the software controlling the central function of the
satellite
- Linking the software requirements to the implementation at code level
- Analysis of the results of the performed software verification activities
- Building a software environment to run specific software on a software/hardware simulator
including code analysis
- Other software related task which will be considered relevant during the stage activities

In performing the task the Young Graduate Trainee will:

- Gain experience in software design and verification

- Be exposed to problems of software integration on specific hardware configuration
- Have a direct link between theoretical aspects and real hardware being manufactured during his/her
tenure.
- Be in guided contact with the industries developing the space hardware/software

Educational and other requirements

Applicants should have just completed, or be in their final year of a University course at Masters level in a
technical or scientific discipline such as Software Engineering, Computer Science or Electronic Engineering
specialising in Software.

Applicants need to be fluent in English or French, the official languages of the Agency.

Applicants should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a
multi-cultural environment, both independently and as part of a team.

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 How can I apply?

Please fill in the online application form.

Please note that only one application may be submitted for the YGT Scheme.

The YGT Scheme is open to recently qualified young men and women
who are nationals of one of the following states:
Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK,
or Canada as a Cooperating State, Hungary, Poland and Romania as European Cooperating States (PECS).

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