IRF in Model-based System Engr. Approach to Multidisciplinary Design Optimisation of Launch Vehicles

Internal Research Fellowship Opportunity in the Directorate of Space Transportation.

ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. For this purpose, we 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 F2 on the Coordinated Organisations' salary scale.

Location
ESRIN, Frascati, Italy

Our team and mission

This research fellowship will be undertaken in the ESA Directorate of Space Transportation (D/STS) within the STS PNRR Integrated Project Team. As a research fellow, you will benefit from the technological development streams devoted to consolidating knowledge of cryogenic LOx-methane propulsion systems through demonstration flight tests and preparing the key building blocks to be used in the new generation of green launch vehicles aimed at reducing recurring costs while extending operational capabilities.

The STS PNRR Integrated Project Team (IPT) is an integrated team of young, enthusiastic and highly motivated engineers with solid academic backgrounds and industrial experience in a broad variety of disciplines such as propulsion, avionics systems, system engineering and integration, mechanical systems, assembly, integration and test, product assurance and safety, and security. The STS PNRR IPT interacts closely with academia and the aerospace industry, operating in a truly multidisciplinary fashion and fostering research on innovative systems, design concepts, lean development approaches, for example agile, and working methods. Through its daily work, the team acts as a pathfinder for the low-cost, green launch systems of the future.

The Directorate of Space Transportation is a programme directorate within the ESA matrix structure, whose activities are performed in cooperation with the other ESA directorates and DG services as appropriate. It operates as part of the ESA Enabling and Support area along with the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality (D/TEC) and the Directorate of Operations (D/OPS).

In this respect, the Director is, in particular, responsible for proposing and implementing a strategy for the European space transportation sector. Such a strategy includes a long-term vision of the sector and depends on the service demand of institutional and commercial users, among other things, while promoting private initiatives, identifying potential transformation opportunities, and proposing action to tackle upcoming challenges. The Director is in charge of preparing the future of the sector by building up relevant proposals for all new programmes and activities in space transportation, taking into consideration the industrial policy of the Agency.

You are strongly encouraged to familiarise yourself with the technological activities performed by STS PNRR, in particular in the field of model-based system engineering and its application to the multidisciplinary design optimisation (MDO) of complex systems.

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website:

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

You will carry out research in the field of model-based digital system engineering, with particular emphasis on its implementation in multidisciplinary design optimisation methodologies to be applied to the new class of green launch vehicles and their subsystems. Your areas of research will be chosen based on both your own expert judgement and insight into trends and developments and on team requirements to ensure alignment with the strategic directions of the STS PNRR programme.

Scientifically, you will in particular:

• propose and conduct rigorous research in the field of model-based digital system engineering and its fusion within the multidisciplinary design optimisation methodology for space launch vehicles. This research will be performed, where appropriate, in collaboration with universities;
• analyse various vehicle architectures and configurations, with special emphasis on the two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) vehicle based on LOx-methane cryogenic liquid propulsion, engine clustering, low structural ratio and low-cost system-integrated avionics;
• select and study the two most promising configurations, one from the payload class of 1 tonne at 500km SSO, and another from the payload class of 3.5 tonnes at 700km SSO, both with the capacity for first stage re-entry. The study covers the preliminary design span up to the identification of the best vehicle configurations enabling the initiation of the detailed design span, and is carried out by applying MDO methodologies integrated with the implementation of model-based digital system engineering;
• perform the preliminary design and sizing of the vehicle subsystems, including mass, inner profile and layout with dimensions;
• estimate the NRC and RC of the vehicles on the basis of assumed operational modes and expected launch rates.

As a research fellow, you will:

• publish results in peer-reviewed publications and use modern communication tools to communicate with the broader audience within and external to ESA;
• lead and assist in interdisciplinary projects with other researchers;
• participate, together with the team, in the assessment of novel space system concepts and propose new concepts and assessment studies;
• perform and participate in assessments on topics of strategic interest to ESA, providing in-house expertise towards strategy development;
• benefit, in your research, from the technology and engineering expertise available at ESA.

Technical competencies
Knowledge relevant to the field of researchResearch/publication recordAbility to conduct research autonomouslyBreadth of exposure coming from past and/or current research/activitiesAbility to gather and share relevant informationGeneral interest in space and space researchBehavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

Education

You should have recently completed (within five years), or be close to completion of a PhD in engineering or physics, preferably with a focus on multidisciplinary design optimisation for complex systems. A thesis topic relevant to the aforementioned fields of activities would be considered an advantage.

Additional requirements

You should also have:

• Experience in scientific modelling;
• Proficiency in a programming language;
• The desire to develop a career in academia or research;
• An aptitude for and interest in prospective interdisciplinary research;
• The ability to contextualise specialised areas of research and quickly assess their potential with respect to other domains and applications;
• Academic networking skills to create functioning links with universities and research institutes;
• Ability to work in a team as well as independently in accordance with your own research plans and directions;
• Natural curiosity and a passion for new subjects and research areas.

Experience in space vehicle mission design and system engineering is considered a strong asset.

Your role will be similar to a regular academic postdoctoral placement, but with a number of notable differences:

• As there are no professor or similar roles within the teams, you should be more academically independent than most postdoctoral researchers. This implies greater freedom, but also greater responsibility for research directions and approaches.
• You will join a diverse, evolving, and interdisciplinary research team embedded in a large space agency, in contrast to a more specialised, focused research group with similar competences.
• You are required to actively reach out to other disciplines in order to bring their competences to bear in interdisciplinary research projects and to encourage other researchers to join them in their core, cross-disciplinary research projects.
• You will need to communicate their expertise and research results, including their potential implications and importance for ESA's long-term strategy, both internally and externally.

You 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.

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 Internal Research Fellowship Programme please visit: Internal Research Fellowship

Applicants must be eligible to access technology and hardware which is subject to European and US export control regulations & security clearance by their national security administrations.

The Agency may require applicants to undergo selection tests.

In addition to your CV and your motivation letter, please add your proposal of no more than 5 pages outlining your proposed research in the "additional documents" field of the "application information" section.

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 at

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.

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