Office jobs in Germany

Job Requisition ID: 20174

Date Posted: 1 February 2026

Closing Date: 28 February 2026 23:59 CET/CEST

Publication: External Only

Type of Appointment: ESA Graduate Trainee

Directorate: Operations

Workplace: Darmstadt, DE

Grade Band: F1 – F1

Location: ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany

The ESA Space Safety Programme Office takes care of all potential hazards originating from space or in space that can impact human activities. Its tasks include developing a basic understanding of space hazards originating from our Sun, human‑made space debris or asteroids with the potential to collide with Earth. The Office also investigates basic approaches to mitigate these hazards and to implement space systems end‑to‑end in a sustainable and eco‑compatible manner.

Several Cornerstone missions are under way to demonstrate basic methods of space weather forecasting, asteroid deflection and active space debris removal from orbit.

The Space Safety Office consists of the following entities specialising in the aforementioned tasks:

• Space Weather Office
• Planetary Defence Office
• Space Debris Office
• Clean Space Office
• Frequency Management Office

The Space Weather Office is responsible for developing the ESA Space Weather System that allows the nowcasting and forecasting of space weather, i.e. the enormous eruptions in the Sun that impact the environment everywhere in our solar system. When these eruptions hit Earth, they can cause major damage to the surface infrastructure, in addition to damaging satellites and endangering the health of astronauts in space. Geomagnetic storms triggered by solar events can cause blackouts in power grids, disturb satellite navigation and communication, and disrupt aviation, transport and many other functions that have become part of our daily lives. The Space Weather Office is responsible for the development of models and space weather services as well as for the development and implementation of the satellite missions for space weather monitoring.

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

ESA is developing an Enhanced Space Weather Sensor System to provide data for nowcasting and forecasting space weather conditions, as well as for monitoring space weather impacts. The system encompasses missions to the solar wind, which are essential for space weather forecasting, as well as missions within Earth’s vicinity, addressing nowcasting and impact detection needs. Due to the asymmetry and complexity of Earth's magnetosphere, the particle environment involved and its dynamics, the state of the magnetic field and particle distribution must be captured in a sufficiently large number of sampling points around Earth, such that the state‑monitoring and modelling of the processes involved can be conducted with sufficient accuracy and timeliness. An important aspect in the creation of observation systems for space safety is the need for high reliability, a sufficiently long lifetime and low data latencies as the data will be used for operational purposes.

To that end, ESA is currently implementing and studying multiple dedicated space weather missions, from nanosatellites to small satellites that will be flying in a wide range of orbits including deep space. Two missions of focus for you will be the SWORD mission that will provide data on Earth’s radiation belts, and the SHIELD mission that will fly upstream of Earth with respect to the solar wind to enhance forecasting accuracy. SWORD will be the first mission to operationally monitor the harsh environment of the Earth radiation belts and SHIELD will be the first operational satellite constellation in deep space.

Your role will be to support the early design studies of these missions, to participate in the analysis confirming the expected mission performance, and to help in the optimisation of the missions to meet their objectives. The studies and analysis will utilise existing space weather models and ESA instrument data and mission analysis tools, but we are also involved in developing new tools and scripts. In your role in the team, you will be able to utilise your skills in space engineering, physics and programming, and learn much more. We have several missions at different stages of development, so as part of the Space Weather team, you will gain an overview of the complete lifespan of ESA space missions, from early definition to mission implementation and management of flying satellites. Our next mission, SWING, is planned for launch during your traineeship.

• 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

• Result Orientation
• Operational Efficiency
• Fostering Cooperation
• Relationship Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook.

You should have just completed, or be in the final year of your master’s degree in physics or aerospace engineering.

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 good knowledge of a programming language (e.g. Python, C/C++).

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.

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.

Please note that applications can only be considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia as Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta 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 be given to external candidates from under‑represented Member States.

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.