Estonian National Graduate Trainee in Advanced Materials and Process Engineering

Estonian National Graduate Trainee in Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Job Requisition ID: 20894 Date Posted: 15 September 2026 Closing Date: 13 October 2026 23:59 CET/CEST Publication: External Only Type of Appointment (learn more): National Graduate Trainee Directorate: Technology, Engineering and Quality Workplace: Harwell, GB Grade Band (learn more): F1 - F1 The ESA National Graduate Trainee (NGT) Programmes offer recent Master’s graduates the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience at ESA across a range of space-related disciplines. The programmes are essentially similar to ESA’s own Graduate Trainee Programme, notably in offering the same employment conditions. They however differ in one important respect: each NGT Programme is funded by an individual ESA Member State or Associate Member under a bilateral partnership agreement concluded with ESA.As a result, a representative of the sponsoring State participates in the selection process. In addition to assessing candidates against the requirements of the position, the selection may also include an evaluation of their background and knowledge of the space policies and related activities of the sponsoring State.LocationECSAT, Harwell, United KingdomOur team and missionThe Structures, Mechanisms and Materials Division is the centre of competence of the Agency in all areas related to spacecraft and launcher structures, mechanisms, tribology and pyrotechnic devices, as well as materials and processes. This encompasses spacecraft and launcher lightweight structures, stable structures, advanced mechanical materials applications, structural dynamics, damage tolerance, deployable structures/booms, active structures, hold-down and release devices, electrical motors for space mechanisms, launcher and re-entry vehicle hot- and cold structures, landing attenuation systems, seals, valves, parachute systems, separation systems, solar array drive mechanisms, reaction wheels, pointing mechanisms, pyrotechnics, bearings and tribology aspects. It provides support to projects, preparatory programs and technology programs.In order to achieve its objectives, the Materials, Manufacturing, and Assembly Section, located at ESTEC (Noordwijk, NL) is also managing the Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory at ECSAT (Harwell, UK) whose objective is the performance evaluation and feasibility assessment of emerging manufacturing processes such as additive manufacturing and advanced joining techniques and to explore the benefit of utilising additional capabilities available through the Harwell campus.The work proposed will be carried out at ECSAT in close cooperation with the Materials and Processes Section at ESTEC. The general activities performed within the remit of the Materials and Processes Section, covering also activities at ECSAT include:the qualification for space flight of all advanced metallic and non-metallic materials, structural ceramics and glasses as well as all related manufacturing and surface treatment processes for all ESA spacecraft and launchers programme;the development of revolutionary materials and innovative manufacturing technologies both internally and in cooperation with other space agencies and research organisations;the failure investigation of materials and processes underperforming and impacting ESA space missions;the development, certification and support of new European industrial capabilities, manufacturing processes and manpower skills training related to space applications of materials and components;the establishment and implementation of requirements and standards for the development and the procurement of space grade materials and manufacturing processes;the development, maintenance and improvement of the European Space Materials Database, storing all relevant data generated for materials and processes intended for Space use.You are encouraged to visit the ESA website:http://www.esa.intField(s) of activity/research for the traineeshipThe Advanced Manufacturing Cross-Cutting Initiative captures the opportunity of adopting revolutionary manufacturing capabilities, advanced materials and associated processes and creates sustainable competitive advantage for European space industry in the global market. In its latest revision of activities, emphasis is given to smart manufacturing, i.e. the use of interconnected digital technologies in industrial production, that enable new and more efficient processes and which in some cases yield new goods and services.The current space missions are often limited in their performances and scientific achievements by the traditional manufacturing processes/concepts. Though Advanced Manufacturing technologies are readily available in the current European industrial landscape, these can be adopted for next generation space hardware manufacturing. This will enable new and highly innovative spacecraft and launchers designs, with significantly reduced manufacturing constraints (including costs and lead-time) and tremendous performance improvement.Complementing this initiative, the following activities are currently targeted through the advanced manufacturing laboratory:identifying, investigating and performing pre-assessment of emerging materials and processes, investigating and use of advanced non-destructive inspection (NDI) techniques in support of, or even replacing, experimental destructive laboratory verification activities;optimising the performance of metal based additively manufactured parts by investigating the relation between raw material quality and part performance;performing testing to determine fundamental properties of powders;providing assistance in the design and production of test coupons;performing material related tests on 3D-printed test structures (e.g. tensile testing, fatigue testing, defect analysis) and correlating the properties of as-built parts with previously measured powder characteristics;investigating the part performance produced by multi-laser additive manufacturing;assisting model development for virtual testing and digital twinning, linking process, structure, and performance in generating input parameters for integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) models.You will use facilities available through the ECSAT Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory in close cooperation with ESTEC Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory, in order to characterise all the above advanced materials and manufacturing processes, with particular focus on additive manufacturing.The final goal is to provide an in-depth understanding of the performances of the identified technologies and provide recommendations for further improvement in view of their space application in highly demanding environments.Technical competenciesKnowledge of relevant technical/functional domainsRelevant experience gained during internships, project work and/or extracurricular or other activitiesGeneral knowledge of the space sector and relevant activitiesKnowledge of ESA and its programmes/projectsBehavioural competenciesResult OrientationOperational EfficiencyFostering CooperationRelationship ManagementContinuous ImprovementForward ThinkingFor more information, please refer toESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebookEducationYou should have just completed, or be in the final year of your master’ s degree in material science covering metallic, polymeric and/or composite materials.Additional requirementsYou 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.Diversity, Equity and InclusivenessESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working enviro